Update

Hey everyone! This poor little blog has been a little neglected. I am going to re-do the design, but in the mean time, purple is what we've got.

I've been home for a week now and it's flown by. I can hardly believe it. I spent a lot of this week playing with my niece and nephew. My brother-in-law got a job in St.George, so they moved down there yesterday. Life is really not fair- they just had to move less than a week after I moved back! I did have some fun with them before they left, though. Their neighbors had chickens and one day we ran around chasing the chickens with squirt guns. :) My mom and I also took them to see the Winnie the Pooh movie. I'm glad they aren't too far away.

In other updates- I have an interview for a full-time temp job on Monday. If I get the job I'll be a receptionist for a business in Orem.

Also, I was offered an editing position for the teacher I was a T.A. for this semester. He was a visiting professor and is now going to grad school to get his PhD. So, I'll probably do some editing for him here and there as a side job.

Next weekend one of my very good friends is getting married in the Salt Lake Temple. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to be one of her bridesmaids.

Oh, check out my photography blog. The other night I took some scenic shots. There will be more posted there soon. (side note- if you or someone you know is looking for family pictures, engagements,etc... I am looking to take pictures for people. I don't charge very much. :) )

And... I'll post pictures of graduation on here soon.

That's all for now. Life is good.

Blessed, Honored Pioneer

Today is pioneer day. After having just seen the movie 17 miracles over the weekend, I am especially grateful for the pioneers. The movie portrays some of what the Willie handcart company went through and the miracles they experienced. It was powerful. I was touched. (Watch the trailer here)

I am grateful for my own pioneer ancestry. I don't think I had any idea I had pioneer ancestors until 4 years ago, right before I left on my mission. I was looking at some family history things and discovered some ancestors who came across the plains. Some of them are buried around here in Utah. My Mom, Dad, and I went to a local cemetery and saw their graves.

I'm grateful for all that they sacrificed and went through. I'm grateful for their amazing examples of faith. Now that I have more time on my hands, I definitely want to do some more research. I'm excited to learn more about them.

Proud Owner

I am now the proud owner of the Adobe CS5.5 Design Suite! This includes: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat Pro, and Bridge. I'm so excited! I saved $700 by purchasing it as a student. Can't wait to use it! Yeah!

Hey, Guess What?

One of my pictures from my Digital Imaging Class made the Dean's Pics! The dean of the college looks at our photo blogs and chooses her favorites. She also picks her top favorites out of those and mine made it, which I am pretty excited about since none of my pictures have made it this semester. Here's the link. BYU-I Dean's Pics: Blog 8: Fine Art Templates: Just as a side note, I have really enjoyed that class this semester. It has been a TON of work, but I have learned SO much. I have grown so much as a photographer, especially when it comes to editing in Photoshop.

P.S. Betcha thought this was going to be another post about graduation, huh? Wrong! Although, I will briefly mention that I am completely DONE with finals now and I don't know what to do with myself. This whole life after school business may take some getting used to. :)

We Can Find Happiness

Oh my goodness. I LOVE this video! I love the Gospel and I love converts. Maybe I seem overboard, but seriously, I wish everyone knew the joy that the Gospel can bring into their lives. It's amazing. The Gospel changes lives. I am so blessed to have it in my life.

http://lds.org/pages/we-can-find-happiness?lang=eng&cid=facebook-shared (Sorry, I tried to embed it, but it wouldn't let me.)

Last Sunday in Rexburg

Today was my last Sunday in Rexburg. I don't think it will completely hit me until people go back to school in the fall. I know I will miss it, but at the same time I feel ready to go. I am kind of burnt out. This is my 4th semester in a row.

I'm ready to move on to my next adventure. It's time. It feels good and right. Moving back home wasn't really in my plan, but apparently it's in God's. I don't really have another option at the moment. So, it's nice that I know exactly what I'm supposed to do and I don't have to wonder if I'm doing the right thing. I don't know how long I will be there, but we'll see... (I'm actually pretty excited... free laundry, access to a car, my own room...that's the life! Ha ha. Oh, and don't worry, this chica is definitely planning on having a social life. One of my best friends lives in Lehi.)

I'm grateful for the time I've had at BYU-Idaho. I feel like I have learned and grown so much. I've made some great friends too. I think back to when I was deciding what to do after my mission and I remember the Spirit confirming to me that I was to come to school here. I'm grateful I did. It has been such a blessing in my life to come to a Church school.

Now it's on to bigger and better things! Hooray! I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for my life. :)

Late Night Ice cream Run

*By "late" I mean 10:00 and by "ice cream" I mean frozen custard.




The other night we went out for ice cream as roommates. We decided to try out a new place in town called Nielson's Frozen Custard. It was pretty good. I have to admit though, now that I've had Culver's (popular in Chicagoland, but can now be found in Midvale, Utah too!) nothing compares.

I must say, I'm really grateful for my roommates. It's been pretty chill around here. We're all seniors. I even lucked out in getting an RM for a roommate! It's been awesome.

Out with the old, In with the new

Well, folks. A new day has come. It is finally time for me to part with my e-mail address I've had since I was, oh 13 years old. RIP purplesparkles55@hotmail.com. I'm now receiving e-mail at: carriecoxbyui@gmail.com.

I decided since I will be applying for jobs in the near future, I definitely needed a more sophisticated e-mail address. (I've been using my school e-mail to apply for internships, but I won't have that e-mail address forever.) One of my professors told us that he was on a hiring committee and a lady didn't get hired simply because her e-mail address was something like "princess pookie."

Yeah, it was time. Oh, and I am trying to switch my blogger e-mail address to this new one and it's not working so well, so if anyone knows how, please let me know. Thanks!

Graduation Countdown

Pick up graduation tickets for Mom and Dad... check.
Pick up cap and gown..... Wednesday.
Attend Grad Night........ Thursday.
Attend Commencement and Convocation.... 11 days to go.
Accept internship offer....check. (Unrelated, but still exciting.)
Oh yeah... and take my finals somewhere in there too. Ha ha.

Ok, this is really ridiculous, but I'm now dreaming about graduation. Seriously. It must be on my mind a lot. Lol. I'm so excited, I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas to come.

Egin Lake

My ward had a closing social at Egin Lake yesterday. It's not too far from Rexburg. When I got there, I thought it was kind of humorous that it was considered a "lake." It was more like a "pond." In order to get somewhat submerged, you had to go out to the middle, and lie on your stomach. Nevertheless, it was really enjoyable. I loved soaking up the sun. I put sunscreen on, so I didn't get too sunburnt. And, by the way, I ate a hotdog. This is a huge thing for me. I don't like hotdogs. I know, I know- so unAmerican, right? Well, I was starving, so I ate one. I'm still alive today. Ha ha.

5K Freedom Run

So, a few months ago my marathon runner sister-in-law and her marathon runner husband started encouraging my Mom, Dad, and I to participate in the Freedom Festival 5K run. To be honest, I was not very excited about it. My poor body has had a hard time this semester with stress and lack of sleep, so I didn't see how I could adequately train for it. Well, somehow my sister talked my Mom into it, who talked my Dad and I in to it. And, there I was. Running/jogging/walking 3.1 miles with practically only 1 day of training prior (We went on a "practice run" a few days before). It actually wasn't too bad. I was kind of sore and tired the whole day after, but I recovered quickly. I'm glad I finished.

Stadium of Fire!

Mom, Dad, and I got to go to Stadium of Fire for the first time. It was definitely as awesome as I thought it'd be. The featured performers were David Archuleta and Brad Paisley. They were really good. I'm more of a David fan (yeah, we're on a first name basis. Ha ha.), but Brad was pretty good too.

One of my favorite parts of the show was at the beginning. They had a few hang gliders jump from a plane above the stadium and land perfectly in the stadium. One of them was carrying an American Flag. The poor guy biffed it, but it was still cool.

The fireworks were awesome too, of course. Great evening!

Fuller Center Cyclists

Their route. (Found on their website, www.fullercenter.org)

A few weeks ago my Foundations Capstone class received an e-mail from our professor telling us that a bunch of cyclists were going to be coming through Rexburg. He asked for people to donate food or just come greet them.

I was able to come greet them and learn a little about more of what they do. They are riding from one end of the country to the other, in efforts to raise money for The Fuller Center For Housing, which "is a non-profit organization that seeks to eradicate poverty housing by promoting partnerships with individuals and community groups to build and rehabilitate homes for people in need." (from their website)

They are Christian and seem like really great people. I had the chance to talk with a few of them individually. Many were curious and had questions about our Church. It was a great opportunity, which I loved so much. We had the opportunity to take them on a tour of the new BYU-Idaho Center and show them the life-size Carl Bloch paintings of Christ. We also sang, "Come Thou Fount." It was awesome.

I think what they are doing is amazing. They pretty much ride all-day everyday (they take a few days for breaks here and there). They ride an average of 80 miles per day!

Two Weeks From Today

I am graduating two weeks from today! Yeah!!! I'm so excited. Things are finally starting to wind down.

Just for clarification, technically I will get my diploma in December after completing an internship (which I pretty much have one now, just finalizing things). But, I am done in Rexburg (I'm moving back to Lehi), so I decided to "walk" before I leave.

I'm sorry, you are all probably so sick of hearing about this. But, this is something I've been working towards and looking forward to for a long, long time. It feels SO good.

I Stand All Amazed

As I sit here at 11:45 at night, completely exhausted, contemplating some decisions I need to make within the next day or two and thinking about everything else I need to accomplish, I am reminded that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13). That verse has rung over and over in my head the past few weeks as I have had to do a lot. I'm just so thankful for my Savior who knows me, loves me, and who is helping carry my burdens. I know I could not have accomplished all that I've accomplished in the past few weeks without His help. I look back everything I've been able to get done, and it's a miracle. Truly, "I stand all amazed at the love [He] offers me."

Just wanted to share this testimony of our Savior with you all.

It's Been a Busy One!

Question: How do you know it's been an especially busy week for Carrie?
Answer: When she hasn't blogged at all.

Yep, it's been a busy one! My word to describe it is "insane." The other night I was up until 3 a.m. working on a photobook project for my class. I woke up at 7 the next morning. Just so much to do and not enough time for it all.

I had two interviews on Thursday. One of them I felt really good about and was offered the internship on the spot. It'd be a really good opportunity. The other one I wasn't feeling so much, and I won't find out about that for another few weeks. I am holding out to hear back from two other places I applied at. There's one specifically I really want- it's with the Church and it's full-time and paid. We'll see...

Friday night I went to my mission friend's wedding reception. I went with my greenie actually, which was so much fun. It was fun to talk; catch up and reminisce. On the way out of the reception we ran into one of my MTC companions, which was so fun. It was good to see her, I wish we could have talked longer. Anyway, the reception was at a beautiful reception center and they had really good food and nice wedding favors. Good times. Congrats Kayla! Oh, side note- while I was at the reception I ran into my former YW President (when I lived in Orem). Turns out, she's the groom's aunt! Small Mormon world, I tell ya!

Well, there's a quick update. Coming to my blog soon: a post about an awesome missionary experience I had this week, Stadium of Fire (I'm going for the first time tonight!) and The Freedom Festival 5K Run (Yes, I am participating in it, thanks to my marathon runner sister and her husband's encouragement and nagging me to do it. We'll see how that goes...)