General Conference

I absolutely loved General Conference this last weekend!

 I was able to attend the Saturday morning session in the Conference Center with some friends and we stayed to listen to the afternoon session on the grass outside the tabernacle.  The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I even got a little bit of a sunburn!

Me and Sara outside the Conference Center

Pierce, Sara, me, Taylor, and Riley (yeah, she's not looking at the camera)

On the roof of the conference center with the Salt Lake temple in the background

My favorite session was Sunday morning.  I thought all the talks were excellent, especially President Uchtdorf's and Elder Christofferson's.

Quote from President Uchtdorf's Sunday morning talk

(click the image to see a blog with more printable quotes from this year's conference!)

Looking forward to re-reading all the talks once they are released later this week!

We thank thee, o God, for a prophet!

Friends

I have so many great friends!!  Here are a couple things that have happened recently.

I've been saying goodbye to a lot of good friends who've left on missions the last few weeks.

First, my very best friend Ashley left several weeks ago, and I miss her like crazy.  But she will be a great missionary, will kick butt at learning Romanian, and I am already loving reading her emails and letters!

Becca, me, Ashley, and Ali the night Ashley got her call

My friend, Conrad, also left the same week.  I keep missing him randomly every few days when something reminds me of him.  But it's great to get his letters, too, and I know he is just loving the MTC and learning Russian.

Conrad and me a couple months ago at a party

Then, my brother-from-another-mother, Clay, left on his mission a couple weeks ago.  I have only gotten one letter from him, but it was nice to hear from him.  Hopefully he'll keep up the communication so I don't totally lose track of him for two years.  I think he's doing well (haven't heard otherwise).

Saying goodbye at Danielle's wedding

An old friend, DaNae, is leaving on her mission tomorrow.  I got to hang out with her for lunch one day recently when she was in town, which was nice to take time to catch up and say goodbye.  She's going to Morristown, New Jersey, Spanish speaking.  I hope she has a great time!

After eating at our favorite haunt... J Dawg's!

A couple Sundays ago I went up to Salt Lake to have dinner with a bunch of friends.  I love these guys!  We had a great time and it was so fun.

Top: Ruben, Rachel, Danie, Taylor, Yandhi, Jake

Bottom: Evan (yes, that Evan), me, Sara

On our way home, we stopped by Temple Square so that Sara and Ruben could have a look.  I went with them and we got some great pictures:

Also, I've become pretty good friends with my roommate Lynn (which has been very nice, considering the past frustrations I've had with roommates).  We've started having "roommate dates" every Saturday where we go get Panda Express and eat it at the duck pond.

And don't forget that one day it was raining and me and my friends danced in the rain and splashed in the puddles and then jumped in the pool in our clothes...

Ruben, Taylor, me, and Lynn

 Danie, Taylor, me and Lynn

Life is great!!

Back in Utah

On the plane from Phoenix to Salt Lake

A lot of stuff has happened since I've been back in Utah, and it's only been 2 weeks!

I got a new calling... the first Sunday I got back.  I was called as the new Relief Society president for my singles' ward.  It's definitely been an overwhelming experience so far, but I think once I get used to my new responsibilities that things will seem much more manageable.  It's also nice that the ward is small right now because it's summer term, so I get to practice in a smaller setting before the deluge of new students in the fall.  It's going to be a great experience!

Sara started classes... just 2 days after we got in town.  Luckily, she has her friend Christina out here with her, too, so they've been spending a lot of time together navigating campus and figuring things out for classes and such.  I know it's a lot for her to be experiencing at once, but I think she's really enjoying it so far.  Most everyone she's met in our ward likes her a lot, so she already has a lot of friends, whether she realizes it or not.  It's cool to watch how much she's grown just the last 2 weeks.  She's learning a lot more about life and being independent, which is really good for her.  I think she's going to love BYU!

Work, work, and more work... I'm not taking classes this term (thank goodness!!), so I've been working upwards of 30 hours a week which is really great for the money, but doesn't leave me with as much time to spend with Sara or my other friends as I would like.  But, I can't complain.  I have a great job and work with great people.  What's not to like?

Lehi Rodeo... The weekend after I got back, we had a tri-ward activity to go to the Lehi Rodeo.  The wards did a BBQ before it started and then we walked over to the rodeo grounds.  It was pretty cool to watch the rodeo. I've only been to one rodeo before, but I don't remember much from it, so it was fun to actually pay attention to what was going on.  My favorite part was when they had the motor cross bikes come out into the arena and do flips and tricks off a ramp.  It was quite thrilling.  After the rodeo, there was a YSA dance at a chapel parking lot down the road.  We went to check it out and I ended up staying with some of my friends until 1am.  It was a pretty lame dance music-wise, but still fun to spend time with friends.

Missionaries... Also, this last Wednesday I said goodbye to two of my good friends who entered the MTC.  One of them, Ashley, is one of my best friends who I met in my freshman ward and we've been really close since then.  She is going to Romania and I am so excited for her!  I'm very, VERY sad to see her go, but it will be fun to write her and hear about all her adventures.  The other one is a guy from my ward last year named Conrad.  He's my friend Taylor's older brother, and he and I got to know each other pretty well in winter semester.  He's such a great guy, and I'm so glad he's serving a mission!  He's going to Russia (brrrr!) and it will be really fun to hear from him, too!  I LOVE missionaries!!

My mom is in town... and it's been really fun having her here!  She hasn't been out for 5 or 6 years, so she's having a great time visiting places she used to live and seeing old friends.  She's getting to meet my friends, too, which I think is a lot of fun.  I've had to work a lot most of the days since she's been here, but we hang out whenever I'm not at work.  Speaking of, tonight we're going to watch STADIUM OF FIRE together and we are so excited!  Stay tuned for pictures from that!

There's No Place Like Home

This is a really long, journally post about my month home in Florida.  I've tried to make it easier with large key words so that you can easily skip around for whatever sounds interesting, or just look at the pictures.

My flight home was a good one.  I had a layover in Las Vegas, and per tradition I ate at Burger King there.  My next flight had a stop in Nashville, so that was cool since I've never been there before.  Well, I still haven't actually been there since I never got off the plane, but I thought it was neat.

Here's my view out the window and my first (and, so far, only) glimpse of Nashville :)

On the flight from Nashville to Orlando I sat next to a nice lady from the Phoenix area.  I told her I was going to BYU and she guessed I was LDS.  We had a good conversation, and I got to talk to her a little about the Church, and school, and what I wanted to do with my life.  She wondered if I were going to go on a mission, and things like that.  She had a lot of interesting things to say (she worked for Southwest).  It's probably the first time that I've had a real conversation with someone on a plane, since I usually keep to myself.  It was nice.  I like meeting new people and hearing what's in their head.  Maybe I should talk to strangers more. :)


I landed in Orlando later that evening.  We stopped at the McDonald's drive thru on the way home.  Krista Johnson was working there and liked the fact that she was the first person besides my mom to see me.  Sara was at EFY for the week, so I didn't get to see her until Saturday.  Dad came home from work a little after I got home, and it was good to see him and Mom after so long.

The next morning there was a beach group at Cocoa beach with a bunch of families from church.  Of course, I slept in so we were a little late, but it was so good to go to the beach again!  I've missed that so much.  I'm trying to figure out what it is that makes me love it so much. The sand?  The sun?  The water?  The friends?  The sea breeze?  Maybe it's all of that, and a little bit of something intangible.  Regardless, I love it.

Mom and me

Some friends

Every time I come home I'm amazed at how quickly I get used to it.  Obviously, there are a lot of changes that happen while I'm gone, and those things weird me out a little bit because I realize how fast life is going.  (I'm going to be a junior in college this year... weird, huh?!)   And I'm surprised how quickly I adapt back to the humidity, too.  Granted, whenever I spend a lot of time outside doing something active, I start dripping sweat like there's no tomorrow, but I don't feel like I'm drowning in the humidity anymore.


Saturday was a lazy day around the house.  I had really forgotten what it was like to have free time, since I'd been working nonstop all day, all summer, up until I got home.  I don't really know what to do with myself.  You mean I have to come up with things to do on my own?  Saturday night Dad was fixing the screen enclosure for our back porch, and I was out there holding a light for him after it got dark.  I was out there for about 20-30 minutes wearing shorts and had forgotten about the mosquitoes... we'll they didn't forget about me.  My legs looked like this the next day, and for weeks after:

It really looked like the chicken pox.

Thankfully, none of those mosquitoes were carrying the West Nile virus...

Sunday was great.  I love our ward so much.  I'm so glad that all the people I love stay in the ward so that I get to see them when I come home.  Whenever I come back, I always realize how many people there were that I'd missed.  I hope to come back and live in this ward after college so that I can stay friends with all the great people and families who live here.

Monday I babysat Will and Caroline, and Ella from the ward.  They are all such cute kids, and I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

That night my mom's aunt, Diana, and 16 year-old cousin, Christina, flew into town from Maryland.  That night, Christina, Sara, and I went to see Eclipse at the movie theater.  I had been planning on waiting to go until after I'd finished re-reading the book, but I hadn't finished yet.  It was so good!  The movies just keep getting better.  I thought Edward was a lot more good-looking, everyone's acting was better, and Jacob, of course, was just as Jacob-y as ever.  Love!

Over last week my mom and I have gone back and watched Twilight and New Moon, too.  I like them a lot better than I remember.  Oh, and if you haven't listened to the commentary on Twilight, it's pretty much the funniest thing ever.  Robert Pattinson spends the whole time making fun of himself, and it's hilarious!  Besides, it's fun to listen to his English accent.

The next day we had a purse party for a company called 31.  They have some really cute purses!  Sadly, very few people came, so it wasn't as fun as it could have been, but there was a lot of great food to eat!  That's one of my favorite parts of parties.  :)

Wednesday we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure with our aunt and cousin.  It was so cool!  We got Lela Machado, who works there, to buy us discounted tickets, so that was great! We did a bit of the other stuff in the park at first, because we were hoping that the crowds in Hogsmeade would die down.  Finally, we just gave in and went.  The Hogwarts castle had been teasing us all day, drawing us in. 

Check out the web album for pictures from Islands of Adventure and Harry Potter World:

Harry Potter World

The next day we went with our aunt and cousin to Siesta Key, our favorite beach spot.  It's such a pretty place!!  We stayed there overnight in this really cute hotel room that was like a 5 minute walk to the beach.  So fun!  Check out my web album for pictures!

Siesta Key with Diana and Christina

My aunt and cousin flew home on Saturday morning.  My dad informed me that I would be giving a talk in church the next day.  Great, Dad, thanks for the warning... (he'd kind of hinted at it a week before, but never told me for sure.)  So, I wrote my talk Saturday night about building our testimonies.  It turned out well.  I thought I'd planned out plenty to talk on, but on Sunday when I got up to speak, I was part way through giving it and realized that I was running out of material, so I just ended it naturally and it was a good length.  I mentioned how I've never given a talk in any of my BYU wards, but it seems every time I come home I give one.  Brother Lopez was conducting and said he didn't know of anyone else who went on vacation and gave a talk.  It is really kinda funny when you think about it.


Over the next couple of days I got into a really bad sleeping schedule, where I stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning (doing nothing, I might add) and then I don't wake up until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, sometimes later.  Yikes!  I guess it has something to do with the free time problem.  I just don't have motivation to get up, because there's nothing to do.


I did try to to roller blading one day, but I mistakenly went in the middle of the day when the sun was it's hottest, so I practically died in the heat.  It was nice to roller blade again, though, I haven't done that in a while.  But, I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon, unless it's in the dark.


Sara was at band camp for most of the week, but she was done at 4pm, just as I was getting ready to start my day.  ;)  I didn't really do much that week.  We did do some fun stuff though: we did a bit of shopping and Mom made a skirt for me that's awesome.  We used the pool a lot this week.  We got in almost every night, so that was nice.  We should use our pool more often.


Mom and I also cleaned the garage (without telling Dad) and took a lot of junk to Goodwill.  That was a good feeling.  The garage is so clean and organized now.  Now, if only it would stay that way.


Friday morning, Mom and I hit up Cocoa beach with Lorraine, Keriann, and Camden.  (Sara and Clay both stayed home sleeping-- such bums!)  It was a nice day.  It was really windy, though, and the waves were a little scary.  We didn't go out too far for fear of them.  They looked like great surfing waves, but not great swimming waves.  We took a bag of really great shells from Siesta Key and threw them all over the beach to surprise people walking along.  It was fun to watch them get all excited when they would find one.


That night I had a pool party for a bunch of my friends, mostly youth from the ward.  I was hoping that a lot of people would come because I think that's what really makes a party fun.  Happily, tons of kids showed up and it was great to get to see and spend time with all of them!


A funny thought occurred to me at the party.  Some of the younger youth are kids that I used to babysit just a few years ago, and now they are all grown up and coming to my pool parties like regular friends!  I reminded one of them of this and he started talking about the fun things we used to do when I would come babysit.  I'm glad he's not that embarrassed about it!


Sadly, I didn't take any pictures that night.  Lame, huh?


Saturday I spent the afternoon finishing up re-reading Eclipse.  It was better than I remember, and I'd forgotten a lot of it.  And I didn't realize how different it was from the movie.  Not too drastically, but there were a lot of details left out of the movie, understandably, and they tweaked a lot of the scenes in some little and big ways, but none of it really bothers me.  Now I want to re-read Breaking Dawn, too.


That afternoon, I went to dinner with my friend Amanda who was in town with her boyfriend.  It's always nice to see her, since I'm away for most of the year.  Luckily, she comes to visit Orlando often, so I usually get to see her when I come home.


Saturday night was a youth dance for our stake, so I decided to tag along and hang out with my younger friends in the ward.  After all, my dad is the DJ, so I'm allowed to visit, right?  :)  It was so much fun.  BYU doesn't do very many dances, and they just aren't as fun anyway.  Our stake's dances are the best!

Sara and Clay dancing

Sarah's super-long hair!

Savannah's nerd glasses

Keriann and Sara

Sunday at church was nice, yet again.  I keep running into people that I haven't gotten to talk to yet, and it's great to see them all.  I'm definitely going to miss them a lot when I go back to Utah.  Later that day we found out there is a water boil alert in effect for a couple days.  It's really annoying because boiled water doesn't cool down very fast, even in the fridge, so we don't have cold water to drink yet.  Luckily, we had some water bottles in the fridge already, so we rationed those and survived.  The next day we found out that the water boil didn't apply to our neighborhood.  Darn it all.


Monday was a pretty boring day.  I'm sure I slept in and spent the day lounging around the house.

Tuesday, I went to IKEA with Mom and had so much fun!  What a cool place!  There was so much I wanted to get, and I kept telling my mom I needed to get married so I could buy a bunch of the stuff for a new house.  I got a few things for my apartment, but I couldn't get much because I wouldn't have been able to get it all home in my suitcases!  I loved the 2 hotdogs, chips, and soda for $2!

That night I watched my favorite movie ever: Nacho Libre!  "Do you not realize I have had diarrhea since Easters?"


Wednesday afternoon we went to Lorraine's house for dinner.  Lorraine has lots of questions to ask about college since Clay is coming to BYU in the fall.  We spent most of the afternoon in the pool talking about misc college stuff.  I mostly played with Camden-- boy, do I love that kid!  Dinner was delicious, as is usual at Lorraine's.  That night we watched "What Would You Do?" and "Wipeout" (Camden knew the episode's name: "Screw You, Banana"-- haha).  I did a US Map puzzle with Camden that was slightly challenging.  Camden is amazing at puzzles.  He puts me to shame.  :)


Thursday I spent most of the day re-reading Breaking Dawn.  I'd completely forgotten most of the plot, so it's kind of like reading it for the first time again!  It's very good, and well-thought out.  I remember now why I loved the series so much!


Friday morning, we went to the beach with the Machado family, minus Danielle.  It was a lovely day at the beach and a fun time with the Machados.  It was great to get to talk to Lela, who will also be out at BYU this fall!  Check out my web album for pictures!

Cocoa Beach with Machados

Saturday I went bargain shopping with Mom for most of the day.  We went to garage sales in the morning and we found one really great one that had a bunch of cute clothes in my size, so I got a lot and they were only 25 cents each!  Then we went to Old Navy and stumbled across their half-off clearance sale!  I got a ton MORE clothes there.  Happy, happy, happy!  Then Mom and I went coupon shopping at Target and Publix.  I love bargain shopping!


Sunday at church was good.  It was Fast Sunday, and testimony meeting was pretty good, though a little more... quiet... than a student ward.  :)  We had the sister missionaries over for dinner, which was delicious.  There was a HUGE thunderstorm during dinner and it was awesome!  That night Mom finished sewing up some awesome skirts that she was making for me.  They all turned out so cute!  I love them!  That night I was also practicing packing everything into my suitcases.  It was definitely an ordeal, even for just practicing.


Monday, I spent the morning purchasing my all-sports pass with Clay.  He was having difficulties with the website, but eventually got it all sorted out.  I'm so excited!  I was going to go see Eclipse with Kim, but she had a job interview so it didn't work out.

That afternoon we left for family vacation to Siesta Key around 6.  We got there a couple hours later and settled into our hotel room, and went out to walk on the very dark beach.  The next day we did food shopping in the morning and evne bough some new floats to use at the beach.  Publix was awesome and inflated them for us for free!  Then we finally went to the beach!  We spent most of the rest of the day there, and I took a nap in the late afternoon.  There was a lightning storm way out at sea around dusk, but we still went into the water.  Then we went out to eat at McDonald's.  The next morning we all slept in late, checked out of the hotel, and then went to the beach again.  Luckily, I hardly even got burned during our whole stay, and the beach was so nice the whole time (except for the water being a little too warm).  We stayed out as long as possible, then got dinner (Pizza Hut and Cold Stone-yum!) and headed home.  We picked up Rosie who had been staying with the Martinez family, then went to our house.

Check out my web album for pictures!

Siesta Key Vacation

When we got home and walked into the house, it felt like a sauna.  The thermostat said it was 112 degrees in the house!  Dad had turned the air conditioning off, like usual, while we were gone, but he thinks the heater must have been malfunctioning and was on while we were gone.  You wouldn't believe how long it took to cool the house down again.  It was only down to 80 degrees by the next morning.  I was trying to pack, but my room was so hot that I was sweating bullets, so I gave it up for a while and the whole family sat out on the back porch, waiting for it to cool down.  (How many times has the inside of your house been hotter than outside... in the summer?)  Finally, with the help of an open window and two fans was I able to finish packing.  Oh, and Mom helped as well, since I was having a hard time figuring out how to pack everything, or what to pack.  Happily, we got everything done in time for me to get some sleep... downstairs. :)


My flight was at noon, and I got to the airport around 10.  I have to say that I just LOVE Sky Cap curbside check-in!  It's sooo much easier and faster.  And the line through security was unusually fast.  Very happy!  My flight was also shorter than I expected.  I got to switch planes in Denver, so that's another airport I can add to my list!  :)  I got into Salt Lake around 4:20 and was able to get my baggage in good time to catch a 5 o'clock shuttle ride back to Provo.  It was a long, quite drive with a quiet driver and another passenger who read the whole drive.  Ah, well.  I don't like talking much anyway.

First (and only) view of Denver.

It was pretty sad to get back to Utah.  I remember thinking on the shuttle ride that I was suck here now.  I would be here until Christmas.  My apartment was lonely, messy, and smelled weird.  I'd really liked to have stayed later in Florida, but I needed to get back to work so I could start making some money.  I'll probably get over my homesickness fast, at least I hope so, since I do have a lot of friends here.  I really miss everything at home, though, like the beach, my dog, and our house, and especially my family.  But, the fall semester is coming on fast and I have lots to look forward to.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Well, Easter's coming up, and I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood memories when I picked out this blog background.  If you look closely, the word around the bunnies say "hopping down the bunny trail" and that shot me back in time to laying on the living room floor in our old house and watching Peter Cottontail.  I loved that movie!  I probably still would, but it's been forever since I last saw it.

So, in the spirit of Easter, and in the spirit of General Conference which happens to fall on Easter this year, here's one of my favorite Mormon Messages clips by Elder Holland from last year's Conference.  It is such a powerful testimony of the Savior and his Atonement:

Happy Easter!

Ward Tubing Activity

My ward went tubing (like sledding, but on inner tubes instead of sleds) last night for a ward activity.  They had rented out the whole facility for the night so we had it all to ourselves.  It was so fun!  I invited my friend Ali, from Canada, along, and we had a great time together, and you probably can tell from the pictures I've put up.  She brought me a Canadian "touque" (not a beanie, lol) that I think is SUPER AWESOME!  I love love love it!

Anyway, here's some pictures from the night.  (I'm glad I finally have something interesting to post!)

I want to call him Fuzzy Wuzzy for some reason, haha

"Nice touques!"

Kisses for Fuzzy Wuzzy

I look like a chameleon...

Yay tubing!

Those guns are loaded...  prepare to unload!

"O Canada!"

That's what Chirstmas is all about, Charlie Brown

"Christmas time is here, we'll be drawing near. 

Oh that we could always see such spirit through the year."

I love Charlie Brown, so I had to put up my favorite lines of the Christmas Story, which Linus recites when Charlie Brown yells in desperation:
ISN'T THERE ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT??

Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.

Lights please.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angle said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavely host, praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Wishing you and your families a very happy Christmas.

General Conference

What a great opportunity to listen to the General Authorities this weekend!  Wasn't Conference awesome??

Hooray for 5 new temples announced!
-Ft. Lauderdale, FL!!! (2nd in Florida)
-Brigham City, UT (14th in Utah)
-Conception, Chile (2nd in the Chile)
-Fortaleza, Brazil (7th in Brazil)
-Sapporo, Japan (3rd in Japan)

My Favorites

Talks

Saturday morning
President Uchtdorf's talk about love, the great commandment.

Saturday afternoon
Tad R. Callister's talk about not letting the few things we don't know get in the way of the things we do know.

Sunday morning
President Monson's talk about service. (warm fuzzies!)

Sunday afternoon
Jeffrey R. Holland's emphatic testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

Quotes

"Though we are incomplete, he loves us completely.  Though we are imperfect, he loves us perfectly." -President Uchtdorf

"God will not intervene to stop our use of agency." -Dallin H. Oaks

"Don't let a few things we don't know get in the way of everything we do know." -Tad R. Callister

"We need to put a delete key in our mind." -Boyd K. Packer

"The lock is on our side of the veil." -Boyd K. Packer

"Young people cannot understand the loneliness that comes when your life changes from one of preparation and performance to one of putting things away." -President Monson

"[insert entire talk]" -Jeffry R. Holland  :)

"The pure spring becomes polluted when not protected." -Quentin L. Cook

"The ultimate operation is a spiritual change of heart." -Dale G. Renlund

"Put temptations out of reach-- way out of reach!" -Dale G. Renlund

"Societies will struggle until sin is denounced as sin." -D. Todd Christofferson

"Mere wanting is a bad excuse for poor conduct." -D. Todd Christofferson

People

(who are just plain awesome)

Joseph W. Sitati (from Africa)

Jeffrey R. Holland

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Dieter F. Uchtdorf-- I think he's my favorite apostle, if we're allowed to have a favorite :)

and of course President Monson!

My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee

I absolutely love this song, and it has meant a lot to me over the past week. It's taken from scripture in Doctrine and Covenants Section 121; the answer to prayer Joseph Smith received while in Liberty Jail.

This is from a CES Fireside that Elder Holland gave last September. It's the last bit of his talk, then the BYU choir singing the song.




For a little while

Have I forsaken thee;

But with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee

For a moment.

But with everlasting kindness will I gather thee,

And with mercy will I take thee ‘neath my wings,

For the mountains shall depart,

And the hills shall be removed,

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,

But know, my child,

My kindness shall not depart from thee!

Though thine afflictions seem

At times too great to bear,

I know thine every thought and every care.

And though the very jaws

Of hell gape after thee I am with thee.

And with everlasting mercy will I succor thee,

And with healing will I take thee ‘neath my wings.

Though the mountains shall depart,

And the hills shall be removed,

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,

Know, my child,

My kindness shall not depart from thee!

How long can rolling waters

Remain impure?

What pow'r shall stay the hand of God?

The Son of Man hath descended below all things.

Art thou greater than He?

So hold on thy way,

For I shall be with thee.

And mine angels shall encircle thee.

Doubt not what thou knowest,

Fear not man, for he

Cannot hurt thee.

And with everlasting kindness will I succor thee,

And with mercy will I take thee ‘neath my wings.

For the mountains shall depart,

And the hills shall be removed,

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,

But know, my child,

My kindness shall not depart from thee!

Provo Temple in the Mediums of Pencil and Photography

Today I decided to take a walk up to the temple and draw it. It's kind of part of a little "art club" I joined that a few friends have started. They just choose a prompt for the artwork of the week. I just jumped in this week, and their most recent prompt (I think) was to do a building, so I thought I would try the temple. It was a little hard for the first thing I've drawn in a while, but I don't think it turned out too shabby (you can compare to the real thing). I hate trees, so I just kind of made little ghost things where they should be lol.




After my fit of drawing, I just walked around the grounds and took pictures (tons of them).

The Untouchables
(missionaries from the MTC-- eek!)

My artistic spread

I got really into taking pictures of the flowers/plants around the temple

Looks kind of like a phonograph to me :)

Looks like sea anemones!

My favorite flower of the day

HOLINESS TO THE LORD

Having fun with the focus on my camera

I like this bench

Yay! A good picture of me and the whole temple in the picture together!

I LOVE this shot!

HOLINESS TO THE LORD
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

And interesting view of Moroni

I love flag shots

Hooray fountain!

Fountain and the mountain!
(woot rhyming!)

Foliage-framing

Another of my favorite shots of the day

Look! You can see the whole valley, even Utah Lake!