The Most Epic Brother Sister Date! :)

So...this last weekend I got to spend some time with my younger brother.  It was a blast!!!!!!!!  He has been talking about Vocal Point for ages now, and so I decided to take him to one of their concerts.  I was a litte skeptical in the beginning, I will admit.  I am not generally a huge fan of a cappella groups like that, but boy was I in for a surprise!  These guys were incredible!!!!  Before I get to that though I have start at the beginning.

Before the concert my brother and I went to California Pizza Kitchen.  Yum yum yum!!!!  One of my favorite places to eat for sure!  He had never been there before so I had take him of course.  We had some scrumptious pizza and just talked for a little while, then it was off to the concert.  For those who know me well, they know I am a very punctual person, so naturally, we were at the concert an hour early... Well this gave us quite a bit of time to wonder around and explore the Covey Center.

It is actually a really pretty building, but it is not too large so this didn't take us very long.  After a few minutes we decided to sit on one of the couches, and as people started trickling in, we played the "who can find the most awkward couple" game.  That brought lots of laughs indeed, but it didn't last long, because my brother watched this guy slam his head into the wall while he was talking on his cell phone, and couldn't stop laughing about it until the doors were opened to start seating everyone.  I wish I would have seen it!  I still laughed quite a bit though just because my brother couldn't stop laughing haha :D

Once we got settled into our seats, we started taking pictures of ourselves making extremely ridiculous faces.  We were cracking ourselves up!  I love that about spending time with my brother, we ALWAYS laugh, A LOT! :)  As the lights started to dim, I realized I had misplaced my cell phone, another thing that might be important to know about me is, I never lose things, so this had me quite alarmed indeed.  The first song blew me away, but I had a really hard time focusing on the concert knowing that my phone was missing. So frustrating!  Then being silly me, I tried relating the experience to the gospel, DURING THE CONCERT! Sometimes I am so weird...I did eventually get myself to focus though and was completely blown away by the music :)  There was a brief intermission, and my brother and I immediately went on a cell phone hunt.  After retracing my steps a little, we decided to ask the front desk if anyone had turned in a phone to them recently.  To my surprise someone had! And even better, it was mine!  I am so grateful for the person who found it and turned it in, because not only was able to be reunited with my phone, but I was also able to enjoy the second half of the concert so much more than I had the first :)

The mixture of hymns, jazzy hits, and variations of modern pop songs made for an excellent and very satisfying show. :)  It was also super fun to get T-shirts signed afterward by the singers as well. Plus, we ended the night with Krispy Kreme doughnuts!  It doesn't get much better than that :)  I love spending time with my little bro!  He's the best!

To close, here are some of the pictures from when we were trying to keep ourselves entertained before the concert.

My Life is the Best Kind of Crazy :)

Today has definitely been a crazy one...actually this whole week has been a little bit crazy, in a good way of course :)  I'll give a quick run through, but then I have to talk about tonight.

Okay, so on Monday we had our ward talent show and I sang a duet with a friend in the ward. His roommate, also a friend, played the piano for us.  I was extremely nervous and thought I was going to pass out the minute I stood up in front of everyone (actually I kept picturing myself not even making it that far, but falling down the stairs on my way to the stage haha :D).  Anyway, we sang Come Home by One Republic and Sara Bareilles and it actually turned out to be really fun!  I couldn't get off the stage fast enough once it was over, but I really enjoyed myself in the moment which was a little unexpected.  That entire night was just fun, and after the show I was walking back to the car with the people I came with and we realized it was me and a bunch of guys haha :D  Someone commented on the good ratio I had managed to pull off and that inspired the band name Danie and the Ratio.  If I am ever in a band I will have to keep that one in mind :)  I am surrounded by such talented, fun people!  I love it! Also, I must mention that I have the cutest FHE sisters ever!  They came up to me after the night was over and gave the warmest compliments.  They are such sweet girls!  I love living at the colony and being surrounded by so many great people!  Before I get too carried away with that I'll get on with the rest of the week.

On Tuesday I gave a little presentation for one of my classes which thankfully went well, but other than that the day was pretty uneventful.  Wednesday was insane!  I taught a gym class in the morning, performed in a little play for my drama class shortly after, and then I taught in my mission prep class.  By the end of the day I was ready to be done being in front of people.  I don't particularly like being the center of attention and it was like the whole world had been paying attention to me all day.  It didn't help that I was dressed up like a guy for the majority of it either.  It didn't take me long to decide I don't ever really want to be a guy.  Sure they have short easy to do hair and the only accessory they really have to worry about is a tie, but I am just happy being a girl :)  Don't get me wrong though, the day was fun :) and it ended well too because I got to go to the temple again and relax while doing a little bit of homework, plus I got to go to a mission call opening which is always happy :)

Today I got to be in the schools working with children again.  I truly am so excited to be an elementary school teacher, I love kids and I love learning with them :) After I finished most everything for school I got to celebrate one of my beautiful roommates birthday with some of our good friends :)  She cooked us a very tasty dinner and we got to just enjoy each other's company.  I also made a new friend and spent a lot of the evening talking to her along with one of my other roommates.  I feel so lucky to know these girls.  They are such strong, valiant girls with so much going for them :)  They are both awaiting mission calls and are doing such wonderful things to prepare for them.  It was so neat to listen to their insight and come to understand just how important a mission is to them. I love that I can surround myself with people like them because I feel together we can do so much to build each other up :) I love my life so much, and I have so many wonderful things to be grateful for!  I was even more so reminded of this when I turned to this verse in the scriptures "Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?  Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?" (Mormon 5:23)  In context I realize this scripture may not be emphasizing what I got out of it, but it reminded me that my life is in His hands and He will make sure that everything works out in the end.  What a comfort that is and not just for me, but for everyone.  He will take care of everyone in the way they need it most.  I am so grateful for that knowledge.  :) I am so grateful for my life and for the things I learn each day.  I love this time of year and the opportunity to really reflect on what we are thankful for :)  Thanksgiving is next week!  Eek!  I can't wait!  For tonight, that is all :)

Oh Life...(an expression I learned from a friend haha :D)

It's been a while since I've updated this and now I have found myself with oodles to say.  Get ready for a long post....
So this week has been interesting to say the least, but a happy week for sure :) I don't even know where to begin.  Perhaps in efforts not to turn this into a novel I will just briefly summarize.  Wednesday I taught my first gym class.  It was kind of a train wreck because everything that could have gone wrong basically decided to do just that.   Can I just say how glad I am that it did though?  It really reaffirmed my decision to be an elementary school teacher.  Even after all the the stress, anxiety, and frustration, I walked away with the biggest smile on my face. :) I love being around kids.  They take all of your cares away and find every reason to smile and laugh.  That is definitely one of the most important things to have in life, lots of laughter.  Basically, I am going to need to marry a man that makes me laugh :)  Anyway, it was just so so fun! And....I get to do it again this Wednesday!  I can't even imagine how much more fun it will be now that I will actually know what I am doing!
Thursday was rather uneventful from what I remember, but it's late so I could be forgetting something extremely important for all I know.  Friday was a crazy busy day all day.  I went to classes, practiced for a play I am performing in, practiced singing a song for my ward talent show, (I fit a tiny bit of homework in there too) and I finished off the night with a date.  I went to watch my FHE sister play her cello in this beautiful orchestra performance.  The music was absolutely beautiful!  Music is my life :)  I imagine you would like to know how the date went as well so I will fill you in a little.  I went with a really nice guy who I have a lot of respect for. (He's the one who taught me about the expression "Oh Life" haha :D long story and really you had to be there) Anyway, he showed me a good time and I would hope he enjoyed himself as well.  I don't really know what else to say besides that.  Basically it went well, I think, and it was a great way to end the night. :)
Saturday, was supposed to be a great big study day, well.....I really tried to study, but I got super distracted and didn't get as much done as I had hoped.  However, I got to visit with some really fun people from my ward and spend some time with some people I hadn't seen in a while. I also got to spend some time in the temple with one of the sweetest girls on the planet earth so I would say the day wasn't a complete loss :)
Now for today, what a roller coaster let me tell ya! It's been good though definitely.  The things said in church today are exactly what I needed to hear.  I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life.  It teaches me things almost minute by minute and I love it :)  I also got to end tonight spending time with some really incredible people in my ward.  We laughed and shared stories and some yummy homemade bread too.  I don't ever want to forget this time in my life.  Yes it has been hard and confusing at times, but the growth and joy is completely worth it :)  I love being me :)

Just for fun, here are some pictures from when my FHE family carved pumpkins :)

A Night I Never Want to Forget

What a day!  Where do I even begin?!  I guess when I woke up is a pretty good place to start :)  I got to start my day doing a little service project and I'd have to say there is no better way to start the day, absolutely no better way.  Not too long after that I went on a fun little scooter date, listened to a pretty awesome local band who performed a mini concert just for me, and had a life changing moment.  You would think it stopped there, but no!  There's more!  This is the part I don't ever want to forget :)  I'll admit the night started off kind of disappointing due to a text that went unanswered, but what started out as a bummer became a blessing because I got to spend time with an incredible group of people, doing things that I love :)  Tonight we celebrated an incredible friends birthday, I don't know him well, but I will definitely call him friend.  It started with a great big surprise, then we had some yummy, healthy goodies and the night took off with some incredible stories.  There was lots of laughter which I simply could not live without and the love and spirit in the room brought such incredible warmth and peace :)  After taking a walk down memory lane we all got together and danced the night away :) Perhaps this all seems fairly small and simple, but I would say the small things are the things that touch our hearts the most, when the spirit speaks to us, and we have been changed in a way that will never allow us to go back to the way we were before.

Let the Late Night Posting Begin :)

I am having a little bit of a hard time convincing my body to get some shut eye tonight so I thought I might add another post :)  Tonight I got to go to an amazing choir concert with a dear friend of mine!  I wish words could do the music justice, but it is simply impossible.  The voices of the singers were so pure and so well blended.   They sang so clearly the sound pierced straight into the soul.  It was so wonderful to escape from real life for a little bit and enjoy something so beautiful!  Okay, actually, my life isn't one that really needs to be escaped from, but it was nice to slow down for a few hours :) I can never get enough of music, wherever it comes from :)  Speaking of music, lately the songs on the radio have been getting pretty old and I have been dying for something new.  Well, thanks to another friend of mine, my music library has expanded a little recently.  The music he listens to is different from anything I have ever really listened to before, but it has been fun to change things up a little bit and experience something new.  I love meeting new people and learning new things from them.  It's been one of my favorite things about college, having the chance to meet so many new people.  Anyone who knows me well, knows my life is kind of crazy right now, but when I take I second to think about it, I realize there are so many good things about my life that I can be so grateful for!  I am one lucky girl :) I think that will about do it tonight :) I'll finish up with a picture I just found on my computer :)

My most incredible dad, and me :)

The Beginning :)

So I created this blog a while back and it has taken me a while to get up the courage to actually start posting in it.  I have been writing in a journal for the past little while and now that I do that on an almost regular basis, I think I can keep up with a blog so here goes...

Today is Halloween and I will admit it got off to a rough start.  It's not my favorite holiday, but what I forgot was that lots of people dress up on campus and it is very amusing!  I feel this is the one day during the year that it is ok to people watch and not be considered weird because those dressed up want the attention, right?  Anyway, I am thinking about a lot of things concerning the next few months of my life and sometimes they just get the best of me.  I am doing my best to keep going strong though.  Perhaps tonight will get better :)  I guess the next post will tell.  To end I will add a few pictures of what I have been up to the last little while.

Went to D.C. over the summer :)

Came home, started school and met my new roommates

Went on some adventures and made some new friends :)

(Brigham City Temple Open house)

(Lunch at Mama Sharp's)

(Conquering Timp from Midnight to 6 in the Morning!!)

(Visiting the Rutter's Cabin)

 (Apple Crazy FHE)

(Opening my Mission Call to Cordoba, Argentina)

(Football Game with Dad and Spencer)