Raw

I've been crappy at blogging lately, but I've been rocking at emailing Tessa on her mission!  I figured I'd just copy and paste part of the letter I wrote to her.  It's a little more raw than my blogs normally are, more personable.  Life's so great :)  

  Tami came on Friday and it was so fun having her!  I just love her!  We had so much fun shopping and talking all evening Friday.  We went to dinner at Zupas and then to Cold Stone where we met up with Mary and Ryan.  When we got home we talked with Ashlee and her sister-in-law for quite a while and talked about how we wish we were as good as you at turning awkward situations onto the other people around you!  Haha!  Every time you get in an awkward situation, you are so good at getting out of it!  Example A: Your birth control shot and Toomer and Thompson.  Example B: When you farted on that date.  I literally have NO examples of getting myself out of humiliating situations.  I normally just make it worse.  haha! Anyways, we were talking and laughing our heads off!  I seriously haven't laughed that hard in quite some time!  Then Tam and I came into my room and talked for far too long!  I slept on the floor and her in my bed.  I love that us sisters all have such awesome relationships.  Seriously.  Taffy is 12 years older than me and Tami 10, and they both have come and had sleepovers with me this semester.  I'm so lucky to have my sisters as my best friends.  

  We shopped all day again Saturday.  It was so fun to shop with her because all I ever shop for is clothes, and I have done NONE of that this semester. (I'm so poor!)  We shopped for all of this fun home decor stuff and storage and home improvement stuff!  So fun!  I just dreamed of how I'm going to decorate my log cabin some day ;)  We left Provo around 3:00 and parted ways.  I went to Taffy's and she went home. 

 I went to Taf's to babysit her kids Sunday.  Her and Tone are in New Zealand and Mom was in charge of the kids.  Well Mom needed to go to Mya's blessing, so I went to get the kids up and dressed and to church and then took them to Angela's.  There's a reason why we have children one at a time.  Zero to 5 overnight probably isn't the best way.  haha!  They were really good though!  We had a little birthday party for Mariah (she turns 8 tomorrow?!)  It was fun and the kids were just so cute!  They were excited to see me, which always makes ya feel good ya know?  Us adults need to love more like kids do.  

  Anyways, I sure love ya Tess!  Sorry there's not much about school, but I figure it would be super boring to you.  My brain is going a million miles an hour about a million things right now though.  Boys, school, future teaching plans, January plans, my next trip, how I'm going to have $5 after I pay rent next month, ya know, all the things :)  I do know that my Savior loves me though.  He wants me to be happy, and he's trying to help me continue to love life!  I'm not sure what He's got up His sleeve on this next one, but it's gotta be good, I'm sure!  In Relief Society today it just really hit me that I need to just rely on him.  I'm just so dang independent that it's killing me to not feel good about what I WANT to do and that I actually NEED to do something else.  I'm going with it though Tess.  I'm taking a leap of faith!  Look out world!  Thanks for always walking by Faith.  Thanks for serving a mission.  I am just so proud of you!  You are definitely toppy on my list of awesome/best people and I feel so blessed that I get to be so close with someone as great as you!  Love you Sis!  Can't wait to hear from you!  Have the best week!!  

Love, Livi :)  

Back At It!

I just started my fourth week of my last semester at BYU.  So crazy to think about that.  I don't say my last week of school, cause who knows?!  I just might be crazy enough to go back someday, but probably not to BYU.  So I feel like I'm safe to say that.  I'm really loving school.  More that I thought I would.  My last in the classroom experience was hard.  Really hard.  And I questioned if teaching was for me or not.  Well, I've been through 3 weeks in a second grade class at Barnett Elementary School in Payson, UT, and I'm loving it!  I feel like I'm thriving down there instead of just surviving!  I'm excited about my lessons and I LOVE those kids!  Who knew you could love a bunch of 7 year olds in such a short amount of time?!  I'm also loving actually getting ready and wearing teacher-y clothes :)  Still had to take a first day of school pic to send to my mom!  Ha

While I'm loving my schooling part of being back at it, school most definitely does NOT rule my life!  I've been loving the things of my single/college/BYU/Provo life.  

One of my favorite things of being back is the gym.  I got a pass to VASA this semester and it's been so nice!  I don't ever have to wait for weights or machines, and it's literally a block and a half from my apartment.  

I'm loving my roommates!  I knew Ashlee (the super cute blonde on the left) a little bit, and we both met Jessi (the babe on the right) when we moved in.  We had a fun ice cream party on Wednesday night with a bunch of our friends, and it was a hit!  It was so fun for me to meet more of their friends and to see some of mine.  We're definitely doing it again next month :)  I also really love our apartment and ward.  Everything about it is great!  

My mom has already been down to visit twice, and there's no complaints here!  I LOVE when she comes!  This past weekend we hiked Timp and did our center street walk.  We found this fun bookstore down there!  Pioneer Book.  So great!  I'm not a lover of reading, so for me to say that is a pretty big deal...

I'm enjoying concocting my own meals again.  I've had some interesting ones.  The most random one was probably taco meat with spinach, brown rice, and plain greek yogurt.  It was actually quite a bit better than in sounds!  I also have no clue what I would do without eggs.  I've eaten at least one every single day.  

I've also just loved being back at the Y.  I really do love BYU.  I love the campus, I love going to the games, I just love the spirit of this place.  I'm not like a psycho fan or anything, but I'm so so glad I came to school here.  I've met so many good people here and while I'm not going to stay here forever, I'll forever be thankful for the time I have spent here.  It's definitely special to me.   

My cousin Sadie is finally down here at school too, and it's been fun to do some things with her!  I just love how comfortable I can be around here and we've had fun on a few hikes.  I've also been able to do some things with Liz Dayton from Cokeville, and that's been fun for me to get to know her better.  She's a great girl!  

Life is really good right now.  I'm really feeling content with what's happening, and I feel like it's God's way of letting me know that I'm on the right track.  I'm thankful for that.  

The Miracle of Mary

After my sophomore year of college I wondered how I was going to go back.  I loved school, but mostly because of my roommates.  They all decided to go on missions and I had no idea who I was going to live with when I returned in the fall.  I was bummed.  

The day I returned home for the summer I got a call from my cousin Mary.  She was heading back to school down there and wondered if I wanted to live with her and two of her mission buddies.  I said yes not knowing it was going to be one of the best decisions of my life.  Here are some of the miracles I have been a part of because of Mary.

I made so many friends because of Mary.  I really realized that last night at her wedding reception.  I was surrounded by people I love and I know most of them because Mary introduced me to them.  

Every since my first day at BYU when I would tell people who I was or where I was from they would ask me if I knew Mary.  They immediately loved me.  

Mary was my first roommate that I had that was super diligent.  She inspired me to be more committed to everything I was doing.

I always want to put people first.  Mary always does put people first.  She is friends with so many and reaches out to everyone around her and makes them feel loved.  

Mary asks the best questions.  When I would see her at the end of every day instead of asking me how my day was, she would ask me what the best part of my day was.  Way better question!  Instead of just responding with "good," I had to reflect back on my day and come up with a good answer.  Another one of my favorite questions of hers was, "What's your favorite thing about ________."  Whether I'd been out with someone or talking on the phone it was fun to answer her question and think about all of the good things about the people I choose to spend my time with. 

Mary is so frugal and thrifty.  I've saved many pennies trying to be more like Mary.

Mary always puts the Lord first.  She always studies her scriptures, prays, attends her meetings, and serves those around her.  You can see it in her eyes, her smile, and her countenance.  She just glows.

Mary got married yesterday and I was privileged enough to be asked to do her hair.  I don't know if she knows how much I really loved doing it or not, but it meant a lot to me.  She was a stunning bride and Ryan is one lucky man!  It was so fun being part of her day. 

Living with and near Mary since I've been at college has been a huge blessing to me.  I'm sure she'll continue to be a large part of my life since we're related and all, and just because she's a great person like that.  I'm so thankful for The Miracle of Mary in my life.  

A Wedding of Friends

The start of this week (ya know when all the storms were and stuff), we headed down to a wedding of two of our dear friends.  Tess and I both lived with Brittanie last year and we just love her.  She ended up not living in the house this year, but she was our most frequent visitor, and we love her!  She's always just so happy and full of life and energy.  I admire how she always looks on the positive side of things.  She is so good at looking at the big perspective and having faith that everything will turn out for the best.  She's always so fun and we always have a good time when we're with Brit.

Luckily, Brittanie married a guy who is just as fun and full of life as she is!  Adam has this special way of making everyone in the room instantly happier when he enters.  We passed each other between classes a couple of times each week this semester, and it always brightened my day talking with Adam for a minute or two.  I'm just so happy for those two and I'm so glad they let Tessa and I be a part of their day :)

Between Tessa, Eden, and I we were able to get some fun pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Brittanie asked me to do her hair for her big day.  I was both honored and excited!  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  She seemed to be happy about it too :)

 I have been loving the dutch braids lately! 

That temple is just so huge and beautiful!

 Me and my sissy :)

Mary, Tess, Adam, Me, and Eden.  What a guy!  

A great group of friends that all showed up to party at the reception.  We had so much fun talking, laughing, eating, and dancing.

Brittanie and the bridesmaids from the Sherwood House

The fastest stretch of traveling.  Good visibility, 3-4 inches of snow on the road, and no other traffic!

These past couple of months I have been realizing even more how important it is that I marry someone who is not only going to take me to the temple to get married, but who will take me back frequently. The Gospel is not something to be casual about, and being on the temple grounds and waiting for all of my friends to come out from the sealing strengthened my testimony of the importance of the gospel in my life.  

Fall Loves

There are so many things I love about fall.  The cool crisp air.  Sleeping with the window open.  All of these things: 

All things pumpkin.  Even if it's your stairwell.  haha!

Hikes.  The colors are unbelievable! 

Homemade salsa.

The cool, crisp air.  On bikes.  

Football season. 

Colorful sunrises and living with these girls. 

Parties on parties on parties.  

Fresh apples and Farmer's Markets. 

Back to School

   Well, I'm back to school at BYU for my final year.  

We just finished our second week, and I'm feeling pretty comfortable again.  Let me tell ya though, those first 3 days were tough!  I know there's not that much distance between Cokeville, and Provo, but I was experiencing some culture shock!  There's people everywhere.  I don't know like anyone.  I can't ride my bike through all these cars.  It's so dang hot.  It was just a little bit of an adjustment.  When I got back home on Tuesday after school I was about to have a breakdown and I decided that I just had to get out of town for a while.  So, Tess and I hopped on our bikes and headed out to the lake via the Provo River Trail.  I really love that little trail, and it's super easy to access from the house I live in.  Getting out for a few hours was exactly what I needed.  I'm so glad I have my sis here who understands me and is willing to help me out.

   School is going super great though!  I loved it from my very first class!  I'm in Social Studies Methods, Science Methods, Literacy Methods (3-6), Math Methods (3-6), Integrating Technology, Practicum Seminar, and Beginner Tennis.  

They add up to a totally of 16.5 credits, and all of them are really interesting, exciting, and fun!  Along with it comes a pile of homework and reading, but so far I've been able to handle it because I'm really interested in it.  I really do love school.

   I started work up again at the Upholstery Shop, and of course it's going great!  We've made some cool things, eaten some delicious desserts, and had some good laughs.  I seriously work with some of the funnest people in Provo!  My bosses teach me something new everyday, and I'm so thankful for their patience with me.  I feel like they truly care about me and want me to learn all I can while working in their shop.

   I got a second job (huge answer to prayers!) as a tutor for a family.  One night the first week of school I was online for about an hour and a half looking for something super part time that I could do in the evenings.  I was thinking maybe cleaning someone's home or something, but I just couldn't find anything.  I had decided that the next day I was just going to go around to some businesses and see if they would take me on to do whatever they needed done.  Then in my math class my friend Jenica said that she didn't have time to tutor this family anymore and asked if I wanted to do it.  OF COURSE!  I was so excited and feel like it was a direct answer to my prayers.  Heavenly Father is always helping me out.  I really don't know what I did to deserve all of His help, but He just keeps giving it to me.  Anyways, I went out and met the family and everything and it's going to be a great situation.  They have a 3rd grader, 7th grader, and 8th grader who I tutor in math, and then a 4th grader that I tutor in reading.  They're the sweetest kids, and their parents are great!  This job is just perfect for me!

   College just wouldn't be college without fun!  So, we've tried to have plenty of it mixed in with all of our real life work and school stuff.  We've golfed and machete chopped pop cans, played volleyball, basketball, and kickball.  We went to the river rope swing.  We watched some BYU women's volleyball, and a football game.  

I'm a true believer in making the best of what you have.  Even though I would probably rather be enjoying a more summer-like life in Cokeville, I'm so glad and feel very blessed that I get to be here in Provo, studying at BYU, living with the amazing girls I live with, and socializing with some fun friends.  Life is just so, so good!

Livi's Logic #12

When I think of the most beautiful people in my life, it's those that are constantly finding the best in others.  I'm so lucky to live with some awesome girls that are always finding the best in others.  It's contagious!  So, here's to finding the beauty in others, so that I too can be a beautiful person.  

22

Well, I've been 22 for almost a week now, and it's been great!  My birthday weekend was just perfect for me.  On Saturday Tess and I went over to Kamas to watch the Cokeville boys wrestle.  We rode with Jesse, Celinda, and that cute baby Jacie and had a good time visiting and laughing.  Mom and Dad came to the wrestles to and it was so fun to see them.  Three weekends in a row.  That's pretty darn good.  We went and ate lunch at Subway, and while we were sitting down to eat, Mom snuck out and back in with a pan of brownies.  These are seriously one of my favorite treats ever!  No one makes them quite like Mom.  

So, Saturday was fabulous.  Then on Monday, my real birthday, the day was pretty normal.  Just how I like birthdays.  I'm not in to all the big riff-raff that normally accompanies this day every year.  Tessa did make me some delicious pies and we had a few friends over.  I was a wind-jammer and blew out all my candles :)  haha  I didn't do any homework, and I just loved the day.  

This week has been pretty darn awesome as well.  We decided we were going to do something scary or new every week this semester and we started off this week with snowshoeing.  So. Much. Fun.  It was a good workout and a good time.  The perfect combo.  

While we were up at Stewart Falls (our destination point) I whipped out my handy dandy JetBoil and made Tess and I some Chicken Alfredo for lunch.  Worked slick as a whistle.  I mean, it wasn't the best meal I've ever had, but it'd definitely keep me alive!  And that JetBoil is just about the neatest little thing.  I'll definitely be using that more in the future.  

So many other great things happened this week as well.  I'm excited to be 22.  As of right now, 21 was the best year ever.  I might never top it. (If you don't believe me, look at this past year of blog posts!) This week though, 22 definitely showed some good potential, and I'm excited to see what this year brings!  

Oh, and yes, I'm feeling 22 :)

My Word

Last year I decided to approach New Year's resolutions a little differently.  I picked one word, and tried to make it one of my character traits by the end of the year.  So, at the end of December I asked my older sisters which word they think I worked on.  After a little prodding they finally guessed my word: Kind.  It was so great for me to focus on being kind to everyone.  I recognized that when I was kind to others I was able to see them as Children of God.  Being kind is still something I need to work on every single day.  

  

Well, this year I've picked another word to add to Kind.  This year is going to be more of a struggle for me, but I feel like this word is perfect for me.  It came to me while I was attending Institute, so it has to be inspired, right?! :)  Hopefully by trying to change myself a little bit each day, I'll become a better person.  

I've had some good talks with one of my roommates, Rachel, about how we need to be constantly changing.  Not necessarily changing our likes or dislikes, our personality or our appearance, but we need to be changing by improving ourselves.  To become more Christlike we need to make small changes daily.  We need to be more willing to heed promptings from the Spirit.  We need to prioritize a little better than the day before.  We need to smile more than the day before.  Luckily for me, I'm surrounded by people that make me want to make the right kind of changes.  They make my want to become a better person.  So, here's to a great year, full of changes for good :)

#QUESTIVAL

All of my Instagram friends that want to defined me because of all my posts the other day, I have an explanation!  I was participating in an adventure called Questival and it was awesome!  

So, what is Questival? 

Questival was an adventure event organized to launch the company Cotopaxi.  Teams were made up of 2-4 people.  You could have an all boy team, all girl team, or co-ed team.  Every team was given the same list of tasks (there were over 100).  Each task was a different amount of points.  Each team had 24 hours to earn as many points as they could.  Included in these 24 hours was 6 mandatory hours of sleep.  The quest started on Friday at 6 pm and went until Saturday at 6 pm.   

How did I get roped into this?

My roommates Heather and Kimmy came downstairs Monday or Tuesday and told me about it and asked if I wanted to do it.  Of course I said yes!  This was right up my alley!!  

What is Cotopaxi?

Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear company like Patagonia or The North Face.  They're pretty special though, because a lot of their proceeds go to helping children around the world in locations like Peru and Tanzania.  They are doing a lot of really good things for a lot of kids.  So, they had a genius idea to get the word out about their brand and their cause.  

Did we win?

No.  But we had a BLAST doing it!  I don't know how we compare to other teams, but we scored 228 points, and I'm pretty proud of that.  The teams that did win get to go on an awesome humanitarian trip.  The trip locations are Machu Pichu, Angkot Wat, and Kilimanjaro.  Pretty legit.  

Why all the Instagram posts?

We had to document ever quest with a picture and four hashtags: #questival #gearforgood (Cotopaxi's slogan) #shrimpshackshooters (our team name) and #q12 (or whatever the task number was).  So, every picture taken by the 450 teams was uploaded onto Instagram and hashtagged with Cotopaxi's stuff!  They were definitely trending.  Genius social media marketing!!  Luckily, my teammate Heather also had an Instagram, so you didn't have to see ALL of the posts.  Thanks for putting up with me.  You can start following me again now :)

Why are there backpacks in all of the photos?

They gave us these backpacks when we registered.  (Registration was $15 per person, but the backpacks are a $30 value, so we felt like winners)  Then, each photo we took had to have each team member's backpack to prove that they were there and not off doing some other task.  Once again, genius idea, and can I just say, I LOVE these packs!  They have these sporty ones, more basic ones, as well as backpacker deluxe ones! Go check 'em out at cotopaxi.com.  

What quests did you do?

It would take me a really long time to list all of the tasks, so I'll just throw in a few of them.  

We rollerbladed for 30 minutes.  Kimmy and Heather are PROS!  This was the first time I've been since I was like 10. I only had one biff, with minor injuries. 

We enjoyed a sunset, and it was gorgeous!

Kimmy swung on a rope swing into the Provo River (in the dark no less).  She's so brave!

We hiked to the Y in spandex pants by the light of the moon. 

We hiked to Stewart Falls in the middle of the night.  This hike was super snowy, crazy, and so much fun!! 

We had eggs, tinfoil dinners, and s'mores for breakfast over a fire we built, after we slept for 3 hours under the stars.  

I slept in a public place (a park) while Kimmy slept in a hammock nearby and Heather slept in the car.  This was our second 3 hour segment.  Each were worth different amounts of points.  I've never felt so homeless in my life.  

We hiked the G in Pleasant Grove and did some yoga in nature while we were at it.  

We hiked to the U. 

We hiked Ensign Peak.  What an awesome view!

Finally, our last quest was to take a picture in front of a water fountain at Thanksgiving Point.  This was the location of the finish line.   

After it was all over, we got a picture with some Llamas.  

Would I do it again?

Absolutely!  It was so much fun!  The worst part about it was having to sleep the second set of 3 hours.  I loved every adventure and every task.  I included mostly pictures of us hiking (which we did a LOT of), but we did a lot of other fun things like:

Yodeling in a public place

Planking in a public place for the length of an Instavideo

Riding the elevator in the SLC City Library

Eating a street taco with no hands

Sending a postcard to a Veteran

and many, many more!  

This was such a fun experience and I'm so glad I got to do it with Kimmy and Heather.  They are such awesome girls, and I'm so glad I got to know them better.  We were within 10 feet of each other for 24 hours straight, and I was smiling the whole time :)  They are great!  I definitely hope they do it again!  If they do, I'll try to help spread the word so that all of you can join in on the fun as well :)  

#QUESTIVAL