A sports-filled weekend

On Saturday I spent a lot of hours and sporting events. It started off with my roommate's rugby game. Then I watched my ward's mens' 3 on 3 basketball tournament. My friends that live in South 7 won.
Then I braved the cold and watched the BYU Mens' Lacrosse game. We won 29-2 and despite the cold, it was a fun adventure =)

Goodbye teens

Well, another year has come and gone. I'm now 20 years old. That's weird to type. The past month has been filled with lots of fun birthday experiences including:

heart-shaped cupcakes from my visiting teachers
a visit from my brother-in-law
a weekend home with my parents and brothers and their families
a trip to disneyland
a BYU lacrosse game with a best friend from high school
a birthday party with lots of treats, a "bartender" and a pinata
a visit from my beautiful sister, Ie Li
a trip to Sundance to snowboard for the first time
a present from my best friend, Katie: Banana Pops--they were delicious
a goal to blog at least twice a week--thank you Greg and Preston for letting me in on your project =)

My birthday month has been lots of fun and I'm looking forward to my twenty-first year of life. Hopefully it will be better documented than previous ones. Thanks for all my wonderful birthday wishes from family and friends. I love you all.

P.S. My sister-in-law, Michiko, just reminded me about some events that I missed. On the morning of my birthday we ate breakfast burritos at Hi-Life. Ten minutes after we left, I realized I didn't have my phone. We went back and couldn't see it anywhere. Luckily I had a big brother nice enough to dig through the trash for me. We still didn't find it...which was a bummer when I got my new phone because I had all these people wishing me happy birthday and I had no idea who they were! So, that was my least favorite part of my birthday, but it must not have been that bad because I completely forgot to document it!

God bless Texas.

This past weekend I went on a little getaway to the great state of Texas! My dear friend Katie Jean Speight, now Griffin, got married to Kenneth Griffin in the San Antonio temple. I landed on Thursday night and started out my vacation with a trip to a popular burger joint called, "Whataburger."

Well, I guess I never actually published this one. Whoops. Texas was beautiful. It made we want to own a ranch someday with horses.


Katie asked me to be a bridesmaid and it was so fun to be there with her =) She was a beautiful bride:


I've met a lot of Texans in my time at BYU. They certainly have some pride, but it's understandable, because Texas is beautiful.

I'm a fan of snow

So, I've lived in California my whole life and I've enjoyed the weather immensely. However, I'm learning to love the sight of freshly-fallen snow. I hate slush, dirty snow, and ice, but fresh powdery goodness is delightful. See picture:

Halloween, snow, and everything in between.

One thing I really love about Provo is the display of the seasons. The fall leaves have all disappeared now, but when they were present, boy, were they lovely.

It was during this time that my roommates and I dressed up for Halloween:


If you need any help figuring out what we are, we are: Dorothy, Doll, Hermione, and Jamaican bobsledder.

Meanwhile, I counted down the days until my wonderful brother, Jonathan returned from the Argentina, Resistencia Mission. He arrived on November 7, 2009 and it was a wonderful reunion.



The reunion was short, but I anxiously counted down the days until Thanksgiving when I would return, yet again, to Southern California. My roommates all left 3 days before me which made for a lonely weekend. It was then that I decided to make some crafts!
It was finally my turn to head home where I spent time with some old friends and family
and enjoyed the most beautiful weather
I tried to take a picture with Jonathan but he insisted on looking at the road...
After a week I returned to Provo, and shortly after there were no more leaves to be seen but this instead...

Despite the fact that I'm freezing, the snow is beautiful and I really am grateful for the seasons in Provo =).

And while I'm in a posting mood...

These are my fabulous new roommates:

Jennica Dittman, Me, Kylie MacLennan, and Cassie MacLennan

President Monson is a Prophet

This goes hand in hand with Sunday's post. Another reason why I love BYU is because they have weekly devotionals on Tuesdays at 11:05 am. Today we had the awesome privilege of hearing from our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson. Not only do his talks help us feel the spirit, he is quite a comical man. Today he spoke about the 9 prophets he knew in his lifetime. He told a little bit about each one starting with Heber J. Grant. My roommate commented and said that it was so interesting because he was able to tell a personal story about each one of them. I wish I could recall everything to memory, but here are just some things he mentioned:

Heber J. Grant
Favorite Hymn: "Do what is Right"
Advice he might give: Persist in everything good and noble.

George Albert Smith
Favorite Hymn: "Let us oft Speak Kind Words"
Advice he might give: Have compassion

David O. McKay
Favorite Hymn: "Oh Say What is Truth"
Advice he might give: True Christianity is love in action.

Joseph Fielding Smith
Favorite Hymn: "Prayer is the Soul's Desire"
Advice he might give: Be Studious; Wickedness never was happiness.

Harold B. Lee
Favorite Hymn: "Praise to the Man"
Advice he might give: Stand ye in holy places and be not moved.

Spencer W. Kimball
Favorite Hymn: "I need Thee Every Hour"
Advice he might give: Be dedicated

Ezra Taft Benson
Favorite Hymn: "How Great Thou Art"
Advice he might give: What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

Howard W. Hunter
Favorite Hymn: "Have I done any Good?"
Advice he might give: Be Modest; Proverbs 27:2

Gordon B. Hinckley
Favorite Hymn: "God of Our Fathers"
Advice he might give: Do your best.

He concluded by saying,"What can we learn from the presidents whom I have known and about whom I have visited with you today?" President Monson asked. "We can learn that they never wavered, never faltered, never failed; that they are men of God."