The Little Things

This past week has been a little rough with school work, missing home and some other personal trials. However I have been able to be so blessed to realize the little things in life that make me so happy. The weather this week was just perfect. Not too warm, not too cold. Yesterday, in the wonderful weather, I got to spend most of my day with my brother, his beautiful wife, and their two adorable children. We drove up to Cascade Springs to walk around and look at the pretty trees.

 This picture is one when I felt like I was back in CT. For one there are a lot of trees and they are so gorgeous. Also you can't see the mountains in the background which is definitely more like the East :) 

They are such a cute family!

After we went to the park for a little bit and boy do I love

 being a little girl again swinging on the swings :) Jacob loves

his swinging too!

I'm so grateful to be here in Provo attending BYU. I love having some family close enough to spend some quality time with. I'm really so lucky to be surrounded by family and friends who love and support me. I have learned so much and I can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Whirlwind of Adventures

Since I last posted all the back in JULY (man its been a while!) so much has happened. I would say the biggest thing is that I left for Utah...what? Yup I'm finally here in Provo at BYU. Leaving my home of 17 years was a lot harder than I ever expected. All summer long I was getting really excited to start my new life and go out on my own and become my own person. As the day to leave came closer and closer I became less and less excited. Finally it was time to leave and my heart ached. I couldn't see myself saying goodbye for four months. Leaving my best friend, my beautiful sister Holly, brought tears to my eyes. She has already grown up so much since I left and I feel like I'm missing all her fun. She is a sophomore in high school and I know she is having such a blast. I wish I could experience it with her. I can NOT wait to see her again in December!! Leaving my dad and little brother was such a strange feeling. I have always been so close to my dad and I loved all our jokes and silly moments. If you really want to discuss silly though, that award goes to Nathan. What a joy he is to have as a younger brother. He loves giving me hugs and telling me how much he loves me and I LOVE it. The hardest thing I experienced however was walking out of security in the airport and turning back to see my mom one last time. Oh how I wanted to run back and give her just one last hug. As I write I can't stop the tears from flowing. She is my inspiration. I knew that I would have to turn back around and walk off without turning back again. Once I forced myself to do it I almost broke down but then I realized I wanted to make her proud. I want my mom to know how much she means to me and how much I have learned from her. I'm counting down the days until I get to play a round of spades with her and go to D'Angelo's for some lunch :)
So many things have happened since I have been here and it has only been a little over a month. For one, I have the best roommates I could possibly have. Jessica (she is my "room" roommate) is so wonderful. She has been right by my side to help me whenever I need it. Even when I don't hear my alarm go off in the morning she certainly does and she wakes me right up! There are a million more experiences to share but for now I'm going to make one last comment. Being from Connecticut the weather here is very different but last week it snowed! I felt like I was home again in the crisp air, smelling the fresh scent of the wind. Most people were not enjoying the early winter and although I'm sad I didn't get my New England autumn, this weather brings back many fond memories of my childhood in Connecticut. I do miss my family very much but I know that BYU is where I am supposed to be right now to learn, grow and have new experiences! Here are some fun pics of my first month here, hope you enjoy!

Snacks I made for a Relief Society activity

Kyla, me and Jess posing for pics with McKenna brushing her teeth :D 

Mariah, Camari, me and Kyla doing our wall sits

My lovely roommate Jessica :)

This one goes out to...

SaMaNtHa!!! Here you go spammy...a blog just for you :) Well it has been just over a year since we became friends and really since we met. Wow the time flew by like birds on their way south! Remember our first sleepover...what a risk!!! Then bam best friends. you picked out my outfits, painted my nails, did my hair/makeup and I'm not talented so I just hung out and ate...the only things I'm good at. But wait I totally did a fantastic job on testing out your new makeup! Yup that was genius...you were so tan :P I think you should be in the Guinness world book or records for boy stories...I'm glad I could listen to them all. While I'm out at college I hope you enjoy your senior year and have no regrets!! Live it up and love it. Until then I will see you soon and then we will just have to Skype....until you come as a surprise to visit me on my birthday but shhh don't tell me ;) Ok well I'm tired sooo LoVe YoU! xoxoxoxo

Just a Few Thoughts

I have some random thoughts in mind to share. Its late and while I should be cleaning my room, I'm going to put it off even longer. I just got back from FHE with the Hartford ysa. I have had so much fun getting to know everyone in ysa the past few months. They are all so kind and I hope the friendships last a long time. This week is vacation so I have been excited to rest and just breathe for once but unfortunately I have not stopped going! My two jobs take up so much of my time and I love them but I’m getting pretty tired so hopefully I can try to get to bed earlier and have more energy. Once last quick bit, tomorrow the Borders near where I live is closing tomorrow so my mom and I went because I found two unused gift cards there in the back of my wallet. We bought 32 different books and spent 36 dollars. We saved a total of 450 dollars. If you know my mom you know how she can spend a ton of money on little trinkets so this was a big deal for her. So in all, life is pretty good!

P.S. I think I need to take more pictures because I just tried to find some to add but I don't seem to have any good recent ones.

Real "Men" Wear PiNK

Nathan turned 13 last Saturday on March fifth. This also happened to be the day I bought a vintage five dollar dress for a murder mystery party I am attending this weekend. Well my dress is pink, frilly and fun. Of course Holly and I just had to let Nate try it on (he wasn't exactly asking to but he was a trooper). His feet were a little squished because he also put on my high heeled shoes ;) He made us promise not to put it on Facebook so we settled for blogging about it. I guess on his 13th birthday he really became a "man".

Cute pictures with the Holly and I....such a stud :P

Unfortunate Morning

Okay, so this morning isn't really THAT unfortunate but it is definitely not a lucky one. My normal day starts at 5:30 am when I wake up to get ready for seminary class. I started the week great this morning by getting up right away and being ready to leave on time. It started when I got in the car. My dad was in the front seat because I only have my permit and so off we went to the church. While pulling out I hit a snow bank. First mistake. Then later while driving I noticed it started raining and it was freezing outside so my dad said I was going too fast. Second mistake. Then we get to church, pull around back, look inside, see no lights on or other cars. Oops we forget to check facebook at 5:45 to see that class was canceled. Third mistake. So we make the loop around the church and head home. I almost hit a car pulling out because I didn't turn hard enough, accident avoided but still, fourth mistake. Then I get home not knowing what to do because I woke up early and now I have all this extra time. so I decide to go upstairs to finish cleaning my room. Within a few minutes, Nathan calls up the stairs to me telling me that our school had a 90 minute delay. I don't think they realize some students have to get up early so them telling us earlier would be appreciated but really what are you going to do?! That is okay though because now I have even more free time to hang around this morning. Also I have first period free so in all I got up at 5:30 for my first class which starts around 9:35....I think. I can't believe it is only 7:33, I feel like I have already done so much! My room looks great and I'm all ready for school. I suppose I will go eat a good big breakfast and maybe read or something. P.S. I still think about college and I'm soooo pumped!! I was talking to a few girls yesterday at YSA and they got me way excited :)

Bitter Sweet Feelings...

In my life right now I have bitter and sweet feelings. Sweet feelings from a loving family, many friends and the fact that I got accepted to BYU for the fall semester so I now know what I'm doing next year. I have been waiting and hoping for so long and now that I finally know, the worries are gone :)

Our family hole also makes me smile :-D

I am very excited for my future but with that bitter feelings are creeping in. I know within a few months I will leave my family, home, and state I have ever known and loved. Where I live really is home sweet home for me. Going out west will be a big change but hopefully I will adjust quickly!

I love my two nephews dearly and anxiously await the new baby on the way (we find out in few days the gender). I am so lucky to live only five minutes from Laiz, Chris and adorable little boy Jacob. He is so SwEeT and I have so much fun playing with him.

JaCoB xoxox

Alyssa and Ben have the cutest little baby boy that I get to call my nephew as well. I don't see them very often which is sad, but in a few weeks they are making the long flight out to the East to visit. The moments we all spend together as a big loving family are the happiest moments and memories of my life that I will take to college next year.

Alyssa, Ben and cutie pie Bryson. Their cute little family :-*