One Word--AWESOME!!!

Yesterday BYU basketball had its most amazing moment in history EVER!! It was the first time that such a big game has taken place in the Marriott Center. We were ranked #9 and San Diego State was ranked #4. All during the game the crowd was extremely loud, I dont think that I have ever heard it that loud before. Our new phrase is "You've been Jimmered"! My voice was pretty much gone by the end of the game and the cough that I have had for a month is a little worse today than yesterday, but it was definitely worth every minute! After we won (71 to 58) the entire crowd rushed to the court to celebrate and congratulate the team. Every one did amazing! Jimmer with his whopping 43 points was definitely the star of the game! Emery also did amazing. Even though he only scored 2 points, his defense was amazing, there is no way we could have kept San Diego from scoring if it wasn't for him. Davies also had an amazing game! He was very energetic and was willing to go get the ball when it was needed. I am very proud of our entire team. They all worked together and pulled out an amazing win.

After the game a group of us went to In-N-Out to celebrate the VICTORY! While we were sitting at our table eating we looked up and Jackson Emery walked in. Everyone in the restaurant clapped for him. When we were getting up to go back home I go

t up the courage to ask him for a picture!! :) Now I have proof that I met my favorite basketball player ever!

Kellie and I waiting in line for the game

Parker and I ready for the game to start!!

Me and my roommates with the huge Jimmer Head!

My Culture- White Female from a Small Southern Utah town!

So for an assignment I have been assigned to think of three artifacts that represent me culturally. They are things that represent my background and daily life. So here they are!

4-Wheelers

Growing up in a small town has given me opportunities to do things everyday that a lot of other people do not. 4-wheeling was always one of those activities that I could do whenever I wanted to. I could hop on and within only a couple minutes I was out of sight of any civilization. One of my families favorite activities to do is attach a sled onto the back and get pulled around in the snow.

4-wheeling has always been activity for me to get away from everyone and my crazy life. It was time for me to get out in the mountains and nature with time to think. I did not get a whole lot of time to myself during high school because of all the activities I was involved in, so I took advantage of every opportunity I could to get away.

Volleyball

Every since elementary school I have played volleyball. Playing with the same girls for years taught me leadership skills and how to work in a group. We had to learn how to help each other learn new skills. Playing volleyball also taught me how to follow instructions because my coach always told us what we need to do and how to do it.

I think the most important thing I learned from playing volleyball was that if I tried hard enough at something I could accomplish it. There were times when I thought I would never be good at serving the ball or be able to get a good pass, but with practice and and positive attitude I eventually mastered them. Throughout my life I have remembered the determination that I had while playing volleyball and have applied it to other aspects of my life. Because of this I am now at the most amazing university and learning more than I thought was possible.

Cookie Sheet

Yes this may be a common household item, but for me it is an object that holds a lot of good memories. My sister Aubry and I love to bake and try out new recipes. Our favorite thing to cook though are chocolate chip cookies. Through the many years of spending one-on-one time with my sister we have become very close. Along with having a sister that I can always talk to, I have become obsessed with making desserts. I love when I discover a new recipe and it turns out to be my new favorite dessert of the week. For example just last week one of my roommates and I decided to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because she had a pumpkin left over from a while ago. I learned how to cook pumpkin and smash it up so we could put it in the cookie dough.

My eagerness to learn and discover new things is a result of cooking for many years. I am now not only interested in cooking, but in many other things as well. It has helped me in school to find ways to look at the material I am learning about in a fun and exciting way. I love to experiment and whenever I can find a way I do it!

Remember when..

Today I got to have dinner with one of my favorite people ever! I have known Eric since my freshman year here at BYU. We had a lot of good times and have stayed pretty good friends ever since. It was fun to see him tonight in the Cougar Eat and just talk about a bunch of random things. Every time we see each other again we always have a bunch of stories to catch up on and it is always a blast. What always amazes me is that we can go months without talking and as soon as we talk to each other we just pick up right where we left off. We automatically just start talking and acting just like we always have. I have realized that it is nice to have a friend that no matter what happens, I know he will be there (even if we do not talk as often as we should)! He will forever be one of my best friends.

I'm sick of coughing...

For the past two weeks I have been coughing like crazy...and so far I have been doing fairly well dealing with it. Today I have finally snapped. I am so sick of coughing all the time. I can not concentrate on anything when all I am doing is constantly worrying about whether or not I am going to start having a cough attack soon. I think I have gone through 3 bags of cough drops in the past week....I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. All I know is they provide fast relief (at least most of the time).

On a better note: Today I finally got my Elementary Ed Application turned in! I have been waiting for a year to get that done. Because of the way the advisors had me do my schedule I had to wait until now and it is finally complete and turned in! :) Now I just have to wait to see what happens!

Halloween in January!

This weekend has been one of the best weekends I have had in a while! Yesterday a bunch of us got together and watched Indiana Jones! All of us were really excited because we havent seen it in a really long time. And of course we had a dance party after! (You cant expect any less from my ward)

Today when I got back to my apartment after finishing my application to the Elementary Ed program, Amber Pickering and Caulin Snarr were in the kitchen carving a pumpkin. Amber has been saying for a long time that she has wanted to carve the pumpkin that she has had since Halloween. so I joined in on the party! We had a lot of fun carving and drawing on the pumpkin. We named it the "hippie" pumpkin because we carved a huge peace sign in it. Amber also has a dream of owning a hippie VW van and wants to travel the country in it! So along with the peace sign we carved a VW! It was a lot of fun even though it seemed weird that we were carving pumpkins in the middle of January. I think I just have needed time to spend with everyone and have a relaxing weekend.

I am so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life. I could not ask for a better group of friends. No matter what we do we always seem to have fun and act crazy!

Reach for the Stars

Today I had the opportunity to listen to an amazing woman speak at the forum today. Condelisa Rice came and spoke to the entire BYU student body. She talked about no matter what you background you can achieve great things. She said that it is the one thing that everyone she has every talked to that does not live in the U.S. admires about our country. We truly are a country that believes in giving people chances.

All day I have been thinking about how lucky I am to have the chance to be here at BYU furthering my education. There was a time when only men could learn to write, read and go to college. Now not only can women get an education, but people from different races are not discriminated against. Prof. Rice talked about how when she was a little girl how she could not even go into a restaurant with white people. She never went to school with a white person until she was older and moved to Colorado. Now she has been the Secretary of State which is something that she never thought would have been possible. I am so blessed to live in a place that accepts me for who I am.

Just remember to reach for the stars! You have the ability to achieve anything that you want to.

New Year, New Semester, New Beginning

Ok so it is a new year! Can you believe that it is already 2011. I am still having a hard time trying to let it sink in. I keep writing 2010 on everything. I could not have started this new year any better than I did. I spent New Years with my Parkin side of the family. I had most of my cousins there along with my family! It was fun to see all the little kids get so excited to stay up really late. They loved the noise makers we gave them. The only problem was that they didnt want to stop blowing them.

Along with a New Year comes a new semester! I always feel very refreshed at the beginning because it is almost like I have a new and clean slate. I do not have to worry about what has happened in the past, I am totally free to live my life. So far I am enjoying all of my classes, I guess we will see how long that really lasts!

Although it has only been 11 days since the New Year there have already been some bumps in my road, but I just keep telling myself that everything will work out! Today I could not help but think of the song "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne. I just kept thinking that I will make it through the rough times. I know there are many rocks in my path ahead of me, but I will be able to hold on and make it! It helps a lot that I have amazing roommates who always keep me smiling and laughing. As well as just amazing friends in general! I dont know what I would do if I truly was all alone.

So with the attitude that I know I can do it BRING ON 2011! I cant wait to see what you have in store for me!