Hello Provo

Hello Provo :) (On my way to meet up with some friends)

Once Upon A Mexico

Over Christmas Break, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Mexico with a group called Builders Without Borders to build homes for members of the church in Tecate. I went along with my father, younger brother, and younger sister. I went to Mexico a couple years ago to do the exact same thing, so I was extremely excited to go back!!!
There is a family in Mexico that I became very close with the last time I went to Mexico (I helped build their home), and the family actually came to help us build homes this time!!! I was so, so, so happy :) The person that I am closest with in the family is named Francisco. Francisco and I ... we are so close :) While building homes, I would help Francisco with his English (which is coming along super great!) and he would help me with my Spanish in return (which still has a looooooong ways to go!)
Our group was able to build 3 homes, repair a few roofs, visit a couple orphanages, help at a food shelter, and do other types of service for the people in Tecate as well as Tijuana. I love the people there. They are always so kind, and I could feel the spirit so strong with every member of the Church that I came in contact with. I pray that I will be able to continue going back to Mexico to do this type of service for as long as possible! Worth every penny for the travel and building expenses. Life changing experience.
So here are only a few of the pictures that I took when in Mexico. Out of the 333 pictures I took, these may not be the best ones, but they protray enough of the trip to satisfy me :) Enjoy!

Wandering Thoughts

I made pasta today and I thought of you.

Here-- Have a Dancing Doughnut!

I just had a lovely night! After getting out of my last class of the semester, I went to what we call a "Doughnut Break". Finals are upon us, and sometimes we humans just need a break, and some time to just eat a doughnut and drink hot cocoa. And that's what we did :) Because I am a Residential Assistant, I helped hand out doughnuts. But guess what else we had..... MUSIC! So pretty much I was there handing out doughnuts and dancing. It was legit. I had a ball. So every now and then, I'd be dancing and handing off a doughnut to a resident, and the words "Here-- have a dancing doughnut!" would pop out of my mouth. Oh well :) All in all, it was a lovely time. What more could I ask for?! :)

Swagga of a College Kid

First off --- Happy Homecoming Week to all you BYU peeps! It has been a great week :) Tonight, we won our football game, so that was pretty much awesome.

Today, I was in the Homecoming Parade with Club Style; the best club in the world! ;) We are the official Hip Hop club at BYU. It was so much fun spending the morning with everyone, just handing candy out to little children along the parade route, goofing off, and dancing. What a spendid way to spend a Saturday morning! Here are just some pictures of those of us that were the in parade. (The actual club consists of at least 3 times this many people.)

Marci and Me with our Matching Shoes :)

Trials

(This is a picture I took years ago at Payson Lakes-- I'd say about 5 years ago)

Recently, I have heard stories from many friends that make my heart ache. From one, a story of problems at the health center; from another, a story about being heart broken; and from another, a story of wanting to take their own life. Each of these stories, and more, leave me contemplating the variety of trials we all face in our lives. Life was not meant to be easy. However, God did not send us here to fail. We all experience hardships on different levels, and it is comforting to know that we will never be handed a trial or burden that we cannot carry; and even when our trials seem to heavy to carry, it is wonderful to know that God is there right along side us, helping.
While some trials can seem overwhelming, it is also important to remember to turn our hearts and minds to Christ. As we do this, we can feel of his love, but also learn from his example which will help us through difficult times. Christ experienced so many horrific things during his life here on earth, yet his character stayed strong. His integrity, and loyalty to God the Father was immovable. He is perfect. We can all learn from his example when we are facing trials. Will we leave them with negative attitudes and a sour outlook on life, or will we keep our integrity in place, and do our best to act as Christ would?
To whoever may be reading this, ALWAYS remember that God loves you. At times, life may seem to hard to stand. In fact, times are going to continue getting worse in this world until the Second Coming. While we look around and think about how even the worst were sent to this world, we must remember that the best were also sent here as well. Stay strong. Remember, God did not send us here to fail. (I love that quote, "God did not send us here to fail".)
Much love, and best wishes to all of you. :)

As they tip-toed through the pages of my life, everything turned into a dance party

Two people...

Emily

Samuel

My life is so funny. Serious. Last night, I went to a dance party, and there I got to party with a group of friends, including Emily and Sam. It had been a while since I had danced with these two angelic people, but I'll tell you what-- it had been far too long!

(Dance History: Emily taught me how to dance. Sam is my soulmate in dancing. The end.)

Years ago, I would not have been able to tell you that these two beings would be stars in the plot of my life. I would have never considered them 'extras', but who knew that they would be such bold characters? Needless to say, I love them to pieces.

After spending a healthy amount of time at the dance party (actually, I don't know if it was that healthy-- there were people smoking close by and it make my throat burn...), we made our way to a friends apartment where we took pictures of everyone holding hands and jumping on mattress's so conveniently placed in the living room. Epic. Simply epic. And of course, we spent some time playing with silly string and boogying to music.

So this is a shout out to Emily and Sam. Thanks for being such awesome dance buddies and hand holding friends.

(Hand-holding history-- Emily taught me how to hold hands. Sam is my soulmate with hand-holding on the beach and at other select locations. The end.)

Dancing, hand-holding, Emily, and Sam. What else do I need in life? ;)

Much love ())-%--

We got a new bathtub!!!!

So.... we got a new bathtub! Our old one had a 3 inch crack--- who knows how much growth was under it! So earlier this week, the maintenance people came and installed a NEW BATHTUB! It's so cool :) We were very happy to have it. I mean, how often do you get to use a new tub?

It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. For me. And I'm feeling...... good :)

I've been trying all day to upload a video from my dance class, but it just won't work! Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to share that :)
Instead, I guess I will be posting about my high school dance company my senior year :) Here is just a pictures of all of us at the beginning of the year. It was such a joy dancing with all of these girls! They are all so talented, and it was wonderful learning from all of them through the school year. Each girl brought something unique to the group which made it so exciting. Go SFHS Dance Co.!!!

Dandelion in the Grass

I recently started another year in my life, having successfully survived 20 of them. While I have another blog (The Little Blessings of Life), I felt that it was about time to try and become better at blogging by taking what I have learned through my other blog and applying it to this one. Perhaps I will run both blogs at the same time... we'll see :)
I have many passions. My top ones are dancing, singing, and traveling. I love my family and friends, and I find joy in sunflowers, birds, rain, and photography. No, I am no photographer, but I like to pretend I am! One day I hope to own an SLR Cannon Rebel. That'll be the day!
Now about the title of this post: Dandelion in the Grass. My best friend introduced me to a book over the summer: The Hunger Games. This book was followed by Catching Fire and Mocking Jay. In the story, the main character suffers through many horrific trials (I would try to go into detail about this, but I would probably end up writing a summery about the whole series!) After surviving one of these trials with the help of a boy that was practically a stranger, she found there was still hope in life, and that things would eventually get better. On the day of recognizing this, she came across a dandelion outside her school. While this dandelion may have merely been a sign of the end of winter, it came to symbolize the hope that she had found.
I am hoping that when I have those days when life seems to be crumbling apart, I will be able to use this blog as one of my resources to dive into my untainted passions-- that it will be a dandelion in the grass. Whether it is a bad day or a wonderful day, I hope this blog will bring joy to myself as well as others!
Enjoy :)