My girls...

Sorry this post has been postponed for a while.... Sometimes I get a tad distracted...

Girls camp was incredible. We had so much fun together. I truly have the best ward ever and I love my girls so much. They are so kind to each other and truly emulate the spirit of Christ. I love how much fun we have together and all the silly laughs we've shared. I won't go into detail today about camp, just know that I loved it, it was all I hoped it would be and more and, it was exactly what I needed.
I catch myself calling the Yw in my ward "my girls" quite frequently. When I refer to them as such, sometimes people kind of cock their heads with a look that says "what the heck do you mean by 'YOUR girls'?" Yes, I know I do not own them, but they are mine. My girls are mine because they are some of my very best friends. We laugh together, sing together, pray together, and cry together. They are one of the major highlights of my week and I feel blessed and privileged to know them. Because of all of this and more, they are mine and I love them.

EFY

To kick off my summer this year, I went to EFY up in Provo. Can we say amazing?? EFY was so much fun and I made so many good friendships. I absolutely loved how strong the spirit was up there and by the end of the week, I think we were all addicted to it. I learned so much about myself and all the things I can improve about my life. I really learned a lot about how we can be missionaries in our everyday lives and how important it is to be ready to share the gospel. I had the coolest councilors! Nellie (L, or L Diddy), Adam, and Pat really invited the spirit into all of our company activities and I really appreciated that. It was a week of laughs, spirit, and love. Up there, our company became a family. A very VERY Large family. It was such an incredible week and I'm so grateful to all those who really made this week a memorable one for me. I feel like this year, I can really apply what I've learned, and I love that.... Yup. That was pretty much my amazing week! I don't really what else to say about it, it was just a really great spiritual refresher and a great kick off to the summer!

Bitter Sweet

Day after day for months I longed for school to be over. Just done with. Thrown out the window. Yet here I sit, the day before graduation, dreading the time when it won't be there. Since getting my yearbook yesterday, its been kinda sad. I keep thinking about how life is moving so fast and how in only two years, high school will be over. Being the nerd that I am, I love school. I love learning and stretching myself, I love the teachers (it only takes a couple good ones to make it worth it) and mostly, I love my friends.
I didn't realize how hard it was going to be when it came time to sign yearbooks. Yeah, there are always the acquaintances' year books that you sign that consist of the basic appropriate lines to say, but when it came to signing the yearbooks of the four out of five best gal pals I have, it was so hard. I know we are going to see each other a ton over the summer, but what in the world are you supposed to write in their yearbooks? These four are the girls that make school worth going to for me. They are all so incredible and unique. I love being around them, they make me smile and inspire me to be better. They are the kind of friends that I'm proud to call mine! Anyways, people who saw us yesterday probably thought we were crazy as we wrote novels in each others books. Seriously, these guys are the bomb. Oh and don't get me wrong, I have the best guy friends also, but as most of you guys know, girl friends just hold a different and special kind of bond. Girlfriends just hold the kind of bond where you can give any one of them one look and they know exactly what is going on. Really, this post was not going to be about how wonderful they are, but somehow it ended up being that way.
This last school year has been so crazy. So much has happened that really affected me. I feel like, this year, I made a difference in someone's life and that whole idea is just so bizarre to me. So many times, I leaned on my friends, but what I didn't expect was that they would have to lean on me. What was even more unexpected, was that I was actually able to help! I think that is what friendship is about, not only sticking with each other, but standing up for each other and being someone that others can rely on also. Yes, it was a good year.
Anywho, back to bitter sweet. Wow, next year is going to be such an adventure. I keep running through my head all that will need to be done, and its scary. Scary, but oh so exciting. High school is tough, but I love it. If nothing else, it sure keeps me on my toes. Can't wait to see what the future has in store.

I think this quote wraps up what this last year was for me.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I need to be.

Anyways, here's a few pics of me and my buds.

Frustration. . .

How is it that some one who so thoroughly plans every aspect of her life STILL does not have her license. It seems like it was just yesterday (or possibly last JUNE) that I got my permit, and only yesterday (or like maybe the fall) that I received my certificate saying that I had passed drivers ed, and only yesterday that I turned 16 (try February.) Tell me then, how is it that I still am license-less? Well the answer I guess can be found in two simple words. 40 hours. Isn't 40 hours a little bit much. I feel like I just keep driving and driving and it's still not coming. For the longest time my parents refused to let me drive with others in the car (besides my dad), and so I thought I should just be patient and not push the issue, wrongo. It's been over three months since I turned 16, and I still find myself with a licensed adult over 21 who has insurance over me or the car in the passenger seat. I know within a few weeks I will have that beloved document that will give me so much more freedom, but I've been at this point of frustration for weeks. I'm tired of having to ask my mom to drive me to a friend's party, or to even Walmart for that matter. When I'm driving down the roads I've driven for almost a year now, I'd like not to be reminded to do stuff I'm already doing (exp, stop at the stop sign, blinker left, and yes I AM doing them). This probably sounds like a bunch of senseless rambling, and it probably is. Hopefully by the time next weekend rolls around I will have the freedom I desire. I guess my parents haven't been totally unreasonable, the give me the ride or let me drive with them somewhere, but I'm just at that point where I'm ready to come out from under their wing a little bit more. Yes, it's definitely time.

That Time of Year Again.

Probably something that most people don't know about me is that I love to garden. I love the green, I love the dirt, and the mud. I love picking cherry tomatoes right off the plant and eating them without washing them. I love being outside in the sun and shelling peas. Yup. Its pretty much amazing. I don't even mind weeding really. Well, for english a few months ago we were given the opportunity to write poetry. One of the poems I wrote was about my mild obsession. Here goes nothing:

And here's my baby garden just beginning to sprout :)

As a Garden Grows

Dig a hole nice and deep
Within it place a seed to sleep
Fill it in, and water well
Leave it be and watch green swell

Out of ground and towards the sky
A baby green plant grows nice and high
Leaves come first, deep down’s a root
Give it time, and see the fruit

Sun keeps it warm, and water feeds it full
I do the weeding and clouds keep it cool
Day by day the small fruit grows
It ripens red and begins to glow

Harvest arrives and as always
The beauty of the garden doesn’t cease to amaze
Rows of corn and lines of peas
And bushes of tomatoes strong as trees

Summer is over and the garden comes down
To be bottled and shared with neighbors in town
Soil starts to settle and the green disappears
But don’t worry my garden; I’ll be back next year.

~Me

Only a few more days to hang on and then....*sigh* Summer is near :)

Time Flies When .... The Summer Approaches??

Isn't it crazy that it's almost the end of the school year? It seems like it was just a week ago that I was school clothes shopping with the buds, and now I'm turning in text books. This year has definitely been one of the best school years ever. It's been stuffed with all the high school goodies: stomps, football games, School plays, dating (finally), NHS, lots of violin festivals, and of course all the wicked parties me and my friends threw. I've loved writing for the paper, and just being a part of "The Lion's Den." Aside from school, YW has been only fabulous! I seriously live in the best ward ever. I love all my girls and the fun times we have. To top this fabulous year off, there was HOBY :) Great memories, and so much to learn.
Every year seems to go by faster than the last, and I can't help but wonder what the future has in store. I've bounced back and forth between career options a while, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do yet. I suppose that's okay considering I'm a sophomore, but you know me, I've gotta have a plan for everything. Haha. Anyways, I digress. . .

Planning for girls camp has been oh so much fun. This year I'm a YCL, and I'm super excited. The stake leader over the YCL's is so friendly and upbeat, she is really going to help us make this a great year for all! We have a bunch of fun activities planned, and my certification group has some great ideas for teaching certification this year. We all agreed that we absolutely LOATHED certification when we were 1st years (who we're teaching) and so we have made plans to spice things up this year. Ya know, candy, reenactments of ridiculous case studies, etc. Yup. It's gonna be legit.
Prior to girls camp, I'm going to EFY for my third year. WAHOO! I love that place. Nothin's better than making new friends and strengthening your testimony. Ever since I got back from HOBY I've just been so excited to go and continue to meet new people and learn new ways to really contribute something positive to the world. Seriously, what would the world be like without all of these OUTSTANDING youth programs??

Now that I've managed ramble about nothing once again, I best get going. Over and out!


P.S. Girls nights are a gift from above.

Before I jet, here's a few pics:

HOBY and General Thoughts About Life.

Each year, Payson High selects two students who show leadership potential to represent them at a leadership conference, called HOBY. I heard about HOBY from one of the yw in my ward, and decided to apply. The application process basically consists of me writing an essay about leadership and answering a few questions to go along with that. After you turn in the essay, the HOBY adviser (Mrs. Earl) reads over them and looks over teacher recommendations and GPA's. Any ways, you guys get the idea. So.... By some crazy miracle, I was one of the students selected to represent PHS, and I have to say that HOBY was one of the best experiences of my entire life.

When I first was placed in my group, the orange group, I was a little skeptical. It seemed like when we were creating our flag, there were just so many "leaders." Everybody had something to say and it felt like everybody wanted to be in charge. It was a little stressful to be quite honest. Nevertheless, we completed our banner and it looked awesome! I was so so proud of us... Any ways, we continued on. For our first meal, everybody's wrists were tied together, let me tell ya. It was quite an adventure. Our basic strategy was that everybody would let their left arm go limp and eat with their right hand. Our idea actually worked pretty well. (for me, this meant, yes, there is hope that we may amount to something). As the weekend went on, I really appreciated all of the activities we had. We talked a lot about leading by following, and how sometimes, the best leader isn't the loudest. Typically in life, I've been one of those types of leaders who is deemed "the leader" basically because I can talk louder than everybody else. I'm grateful that the activities we did forced me to sometimes sit in the background and just try to be a contributor rather than the one in charge.

I met a lot of truly amazing people at HOBY, and they taught me so much. I made some amazing friends that I hope to continue to have for the rest of my life. They taught me so much about what it means to be a leader, and what it means to be a friend. We only knew each other for three days, and yet, we were so willing to share our lives with one another. It amazes me how close we got, and how much I now miss all of them. They changed something in the space where my brain is suppose to be, and I'm so happy I was able to meet all of these incredible people.

I had the best councilor and JC ever. Hands down. They both taught me so much about service and judging a book by it's cover, and just life in general. I appreciated their insight and caring. I really loved the one word pep talks my councilor Jackie gave us. Words like "electric" "juice" and "krush" will never be the same for me again. Man, do I miss em.

I sure do miss all of the friendship and support these people gave me. Thank goodness for things like being a JC and Clews to get us all back together. Anyways, HOBY was incredible. I learned so much about service, and how much we can really do to help our communities. I love HOBY. I can't believe it was only a week ago. Time flies.

Oh and we went on this AH-MAZ-ING trust walk. Everyone in our group was blindfolded and we weren't allowed to talk. We were led up, down, and through things, going through puddles, sand, and all sorts of stuff. It was so cool how we created our own language. It was full of sounds, textures, and hand gestures.I loved it. loved it. loved it. Afterwords, we as a group talked about how we as leaders, need to follow as well. We can't make a difference in the world alone, just like we couldn't get anywhere alone during the walk. I just loved this activity and I love my group.... Did I mention we won the award MOST OUTSTANDING out of all the groups at HOBY??!! This means we were the best there. We were the closest,had the best discussions, and we were just an amazing group of youth to have together!

I'm not sure what else to put, so much was packed into those incredible three days, and to be honest, I don't know that anyone really is interested in each individual panel, so I think I'll just stick to the summary idea.

I think one thing that has made it easier to come home is the fact that I have so much here. I have the best friends in the world and I love them so much.I have a loving family, with two parents who work so hard to teach me, and I have an amazing ward to takes care of each other. I love it here in this little town.