Weekend Wonderland

The opportunity presented itself to me to get away to Washington for the between semester break and, even though it involved fourteen hours in the car, I took it- happily! Sometimes, it is necessary to get away from the places that you associate with stress. Provo, from the beginning of my days at BYU has always been associated with some degree of stress. Washington, on the other hand, I don't think I have ever felt stressed here. This weekend was no exception. Lounging around, walks on the beach, running trails, hanging with the fam- stress free weekend. I loved every minute of it and my only regret leaving is that I am not spending more time here.

As you can see, beautiful weather, beautiful family faces and a pretty talented photographer make for some pretty awesome pictures (Dad, those are in no particular order, I just want you to know). I will definitely be missing playing on the beach with some of my favorite kids next week when I am back in class.... Actually, tomorrow, my first spring class is tomorrow. Oh school, you did not give me quite enough time to miss you.

Things You Probably Didn't Want to Know

My life lately has consisted of studying, studying and more studying! Oh, the life of a college student! The end of the semester has got to be one of my favorite times and least favorite times all at the same time! I thought, just for fun, I would share some things that I know that you probably don't want to know- here it goes!

1. T.S Elliot's the Hollow Man draws from four sources, The Gunpowder Plot, Heart of Darkness, Julius Ceasar and Dante's Inferno.

2. Joseph Smith spent the night of June 23, 1844 on an island in the river in front of Nauvoo.

3. When dealing with a suspected elbow injury you should check both radial and ulnar pulses and the capillary refill of the nail beds.

4. Mode of exercise, frequency, duration and intensity are the

variables that are controlled when writing an exercise program for an individual.

5. Licensure provides more strict guidelines than certification for athletic trainers.

There you go- in case you were wondering, these are the kind of things that I have floating around my head at this very moment which is bad because it is Sunday and I should have my Sunday school lesson floating around my head! On a more interesting note, I visited this week with my academic advisor. Mr. Ferris Child and I planned out my graduation and it is really going to happen! I am set to walk in August and officially graduate in December of 2011. Pretty exciting! I guess all this studying really has done something for

me... maybe...

Graduation will look something like this except I will be a little bit older, I think we wear blue and, unfortunately, there will be less of Jess Raliegh but, thankfully, there will be good friends!!!

Blogging.... For All the Wrong Reasons

So, recently I have been pretty good about finding something to blog about each week. It is not that I have not had anything to blog about in the past couple of weeks but I have not made the time and now, when I should most definitely be doing other things, like preparing for finals, I have decided to make the time... good decision, probably not. The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy so I will go over the just the highlights!

In the last little while I have reconnected with an old friend from my Brick Oven days. This friend of mine happens to work at Sundance and can get his friends into the resort for free. A couple of Fridays ago it snowed like crazy and we decided it was a perfect day to go boarding! The powder was AMAZING and we got first tracks all day long because our tracks kept getting covered up- it was kind of like magic! The next day there was still new snow and it was sunny so, we decided to go boarding again- it is a charmed life I lead! This picture from a previous snowboarding experience, Brad and I did not take any pictures, unfortunately, but

this one was taken at Sundance so I figured it would be an acceptable visual aid!

This is a car stereo, for those of you who might be confused. For the last long while, the radio in my car has not been the most reliable radio in the world. I think if there were a competition for the most reliable radio in the world, mine would not even be in the running. Not only does my friend Brad get sweet Sundance hook-ups, he also has pretty great car-fixing skills. Brad installed a new stereo in my car that even has a USB plug so my iPod doesn't just play through my stereo, it charges while it plays through my stereo. Pretty sweet if you ask me! Brad is also the reason that I now know how to change the oil in my car. I will be honest, I never imagined that I would ever lay on my back under a car and actually do things to help the car but, days ago, I did just that. Go ahead, call me a mechanic!

This picture is also a throw-back. It was taken at the end of fall semester 2008, right before I left to spend a semester in London, the greatest city in the world!!! Although I love the girls in this picture, that is not what this section of my post is about. It is more about the sign. Brigham Young University has been a big part of my life for the last four years but will not be in it much longer. I graduate in December and then will venture out into the world to make a name for myself. What that name will be, I am still not entirely sure. Unfortunately, before December comes I need to survive the rest of this semester. With a large amount papers and finals coming up and a very small amount of motivation, this could be one difficult task. Cross your fingers for me would ya?!?

To end, I wanted to hit a happier note! All of the people in this picture, minus baby Zoey, were here, in Utah, last weekend! It was so much fun to have everyone around even though it was a little crazy at times! I love Love LOVE my family and I am so thankful they can be mine forever! I am thankful to have bright spots like them in my life when other things (like finals) look like rolling black clouds on my horizon!!