More Dunes!

This week we went back to the dunes to play and make smores, etc.

F.H.E. at a cave and sand dunes

On Monday our F.H.E. group explored a cave that is about 30 minutes away from Rexburg. It is called the "Civil defense" cave. Apparently it is a man made cave from the cold war. It was pretty cool. Well, I guess that can be taken literally. It was icy in there. It was pretty rocky too. I was disappointed that it didn't echo, but I still had an enjoyable time.

On our way home we stopped at the sand dunes. They are about 15 minutes away from Rexburg. It is really interesting- just a bunch of sand. It's kind of random, but really cool.

My Weekend At Home

I wasn't originally going to go home this past weekend, but Mom really wanted me to. She used a number of tactics, which eventually got me convinced. (Not that I don't like going home, it's just I have a lot going on, and I will be there for seven weeks starting at the end of July).

So, I rode down with a girl from BYU-I who seems to take weekly trips to Utah for business- to get money from passengers. That bugs me for some reason. Anyway, on our way down we saw a pretty bad accident. When I say we saw it, I mean that. We saw it happen. There was a sudden construction zone and a truck quickly slammed on his brakes. Well, consequently the cars behind him did too, and everyone slammed into eachother. There was smoke and lots of damage to the cars. One car got pushed into a ditch on the side of the road from the impact. Another car swerved into the ditch to avoid being hit. What amazed me was the car that swerved into the ditch got back out and just drove away. They didn't even stay on the scene. Even though they had no damage, they should have stayed. Man, life can change so quickly! Literally, it was all a matter of seconds.

Well, I made it to Lehi safely on Friday night. Dad picked me up and we had dinner at "El Pollo Loco." It was soooo good!

After dinner we made a stop at D.I. We both love the place. I found some new treasures- a couple of "new" shirts and two "new" CDs.

Then we went to our other regular spot- Walmart. I got some needed items there. I went through the "20 items or less" lane, and pulled out my debit card. As I was there, the cashier said, (in a very serious voice)"I'm sorry, this is a cash only line." He was, of course, totally joking! For a moment though, I believed him! That was too funny. Reminds me of "You've Got Mail."

We then headed home. Mom was home from work. I had some icecream (mmm) and just relaxed.

Saturday I slept in pretty late. I love my bed at home. It is soooo soft! Later that afternoon we picked up Grandma Chadwick and we headed to the Hale Center Theater in West Valley City. We saw the play "Hello, Dolly!" I had never seen it before, nor did I have any clue what it was about. But, it was so good! I really liked it.

Then, we went to dinner at Olive Garden. That was delicious.

We then dropped Grandma off at her house and went to Wal-mart where we did some grocery shopping. We then came home and we were all exhausted!

Sunday I went to Mom and Dad's ward. There are a million kids in their ward, and it was noisy. But, it was still good.

We had dinner with Chad, Buffy, and Grandma Chadwick that night. To top off a perfectly good weekend, I happened to break the new sink faucet in the kitchen. Yikes! Of course that would happen to me.

My ride didn't leave Lehi until 9:00 p.m., which was frustrating to me. It turned out to be a REALLY late night. We had to pick up another girl in SLC. We ended up having to wait for the girl. Well, we didn't get into Rexburg until 2:00 a.m.! Quite annoying! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE my sleep!

After I got home I had to catch up on some homework. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night! But, the sacrifice was worth it. I was able to spend quality time with family- including being with my Dad on Fathers' Day. I really needed a relaxing weekend!

P.S. I would have loved to see/spend time with other friends and family members while I was down there, but I just did not have time! I look forward to a fun 7 week break when I can see y'all! :)

A Beautiful Breather

Tonight I decided to put off everything I needed to do and just take a breather. It has been raining this whole month, but I managed to catch some sunshine. Also, today is actually the first day in nearly two weeks that I am finally feeling good. I've been sick with a nasty cold that has just blown me out of the water! (I'm starting to see a horrible trend. I got sick at the beginning of the semester because I was so stressed. Now, I have been sick at midterms. I cannot get sick at finals now! I just can't!)

But, anyway, since I got my ipod, my jogging/walking has become a lot more exciting. Plus, a girl that used to live in my apartment left an ipod holder armband thingy. Those things cost a fortune, so I am very lucky!

My tunes kept me upbeat and motivated to run. Then, I decided to slow things down and listen to my "spiritual music." The sun was setting, and it was gorgeous. I really felt close to God. It was beautiful.

I then went up to the Hinckley building on campus. There is a foyer with large windows. It's a great view. You can see a lot of Rexburg.

(Posted above are some pictures I took on my walk, with my cellphone)

The Climb

(photo from Microsoft clip art)

My new favorite song is "The Climb," sung by Miley Cyrus. It really has an awesome message. It pretty much describes my life!

The Climb Lyrics
Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;
I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa


© HOPELESS ROSE MUSIC; VISTAVILLE MUSIC;

Two Years Later...

It was two years ago today that my mission call was issued. A lot can (and does) happen in that amount of time!