College is where you build life long friendships

As I drove away from Wyview, I became extremely sentimental about the great time the past 3 years has been while I attended BYU.  My brain puts these memories into categories.  These are some of my favorites

Spring: First Term as a Student

Summer Term: My BYU FamBam

Fall Semester: When I Met My Forever Friends

Winter Semester/Spring Term/Summer Term: Getting by with a Little Help from My Friends

Winter Semester/Spring Term: Post-missionary Life

I'm so very grateful for each person that made my BYU experience the best thing ever. 

earrings.

Today, I sat in the faculty room.  I have crazy thoughts when I sit in the faculty room alone.

My thoughts drifted to the origin of earrings.  Not the history but what idiot decided to stab himself and then hang something from it.

Really?

What random stuff boggles your mind?

smile on

My little sister got married this past weekend.  I fully plan to write a complete post about that.  Although I still hate weddings, it was  a beautiful day.

Trace is having such an emotional day. We think he's experiencing mommy withdraws.

My best friend asked me to make a blog for all of his mission letters.  I'm working on that instead of posting here.

This is what's up with me.

Smile on my friends, smile on.

Some people who read this might not agree, but I think this is beautiful!

from the soot

When I moved out of Wyview and into The Branburry, in Provo, I struggled for awhile.  My roommates were foreign (Asians) and knew very little English.  They made disgusting food, smelled funny and didn't clean up after themselves. I didn't know anyone in my ward. I was home very little because I was felt more at home in Matthew's apartment.

A couple of weeks in there was a regional conference held for all of the members in Utah County. Several general authorities were scheduled to talk to us.  My stake decided to combine stake conference with the regional conference.  Saturday night, the adult session of stake conference was held at the Provo Tabernacle.

The Provo Tabernacle was an incredible building.  Everything was so old and beautiful.  During that session of conference I finally felt like everything, in its own do time, would be okay.  I needed to stay where I was and just put trust in the Lord.

On December 17th,  a four-alarm fire burned down the tabernacle. This building that I held such a spiritual connection to was gone. I cried. I don't think I realized how much the tabernacle meant to me until it was in ashes. I remember hearing on the news that the tabernacle would be beyond repair.  It made my heart sad. 

October 1, 2011, Annie, Billy and I were at conference (The night before I went through the Draper temple for the first time to receive my own endowments).  President Thomas S. Monson stood and announced the building of several temples--one in Wyoming, a French temple, and one from remains of the Provo Tabernacle.

Since that day, I've thought several times about how amazing that is.  My mind is constantly making analogies to relate things back to myself. 

I've found myself, at times, in a complete mess.  To relate it back to the tabernacle temple, my life was in ashes--nothing could be put back together. If I tried to put it back together, it would become a even bigger disaster. I should just walk away.  Just like the temple.  Builders, architects, engineers all said that it was beyond repair. 

However there is one person, the son of a carpenter, is the only one who can put reassemble my life.  When I turn to the Savior, Jesus Christ, he can take all of my mistakes and make me whole again.  

The tabernacle stood as a pile of soot and yet through a prophet of God he relayed the worth of that once beautiful building.  It would one day become a House of the Lord.  He would walk through its hallways and grace it with His spirit. 

I'm so grateful that no mater what mistakes I've made and how disastrous my life may become, my Savior always sees what I can become rather than what I am. 

granola

Last week I went to ward temple night.  I rode over with Rob and Freyja.  Rob said that Freyja was the biggest granola he knows. 

Being the fat girl that I am, this reminded me how much I love granola.  After thinking about it for a couple of days, I went to the store to find some granola.  It is impossible to find gluten free  granola in Roosevelt.  So I decided to make my own. 

I got the recipe here:

Basic {Easy!} Homemade Granola

·         1 cup coconut oil (sometimes I’ll use ½ coconut oil and ½ butter; canola works, also) (I used ½ cup butter and ½ cup canola oil)

·         1 cup honey (we didn’t have enough honey so I substituted about 1/3 cup stevia)

·         ½ cup brown sugar (I used more. Quite a bit more)

·         4 teaspoons vanilla

·         2 teaspoons cinnamon

·         15 cups (one 42 ounce box) old fashioned oats

1.    Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan.  Bring to a low boil.

2.    Remove from heat.  Stir in cinnamon and vanilla.

3.    Pour over oats in a large bowl.  Stir until well coated.

4.    Spread oats in two or three 9×13 pans.  Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.

5.    Take out and stir.

6.    Return pans to oven.  Turn oven off.

7.    Go to bed.  Wake up to a delicious, cinnamon-y sent wafting through your kitchen!  (If you prefer to start your granola earlier in the day, it will be ready when your oven cools.)

Store granola in an airtight container.  Stick it in the freezer for long-term storage.  (I honestly forgot that it was in the oven and it’s still there.)

It's so yummy.  I've had it with honey strawberry greek yogurt and strawberries.  I've had it with bananas and almond milk.  And I've had it just by itself. 

Halloween idea

I could get most of it from Target. 

Opinions?

my wonderful weekend

While I was in California, serving my mission, I met so many wonderful people who will forever hold a piece of my heart. 

This weekend some of those people came to Utah for a quick Labor Day weekend get away.  Lydia and her boys and Amie and Gabe's family came EDH.  It was so great to see them. 

Saturday morning started by watching the movie, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.  Lydia said it best when she said, "EVERYONE needs to see that movie when they come to Utah." She is absolutely right.  I cry throughout most of the movie.  It gets me going every time. 

After that we did a quick walk through temple square and did a tour of the Conference Center.  Our tour guide was so wonderful that he fit it into our time constraints before we had to head to Brigham City.  

We went to Brigham City and did a tour of the newly constructed temple there.  It's so beautiful and the artwork is outstanding.  I'm excited for the dedication on September 23rd.  It should be fantastic!

On the way back to SLC, Lydia, her boys and I stopped in Bountiful at Nielsen's Frozen Custard!  It is one of the yummiest places ever!  When we finished with our custard we drove up around the Bountiful Temple.  There was the most amazing view over the valley as we approached the temple.   We stopped and got out.  I tried to take a picture on my phone but it really does the view an disservice so I'm not posting it.  Let's just say it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  Lydia took pictures with her super fancy camera and if she send them to me I'll post them.    We drove around the temple there and Lydia loved it.  The grounds were closed so we couldn't walk around there, but the lighting made it look beautiful.  After we were done snapping pictures in the rain, we decided to explore around Bountiful.  I think Bountiful was my favorite part of the whole weekend. 

Sunday, Lydia went to Music and The Spoken Word.  I couldn't find here so I went in the bottom of the North Visitors Center and listened to a couple of conference talks.  It was really needed to have a moment alone to just reflect and feel the spirit. 

After, I said goodbye to Lydia and went to my grandparents house.  It was fun to chat with them and see my aunt and cousin.  I went to Whole Foods and picked up a couple of Gluten Free food before heading home.  

It was such a great weekend I loved it. 

Good morning, Salt Lake City. 

North Visitors Center

All of us at the conference center

Brigham City Temple

Lydia taking pictures of the Bountiful Temple

Bountiful Temple

Salt Lake Temple

Crazy kiddos at the conference center

waiting in my corner of the woods

All of my Roosey friends are at college.  All of my college friends are serving mission or back at college.  I'm still chilling in Neola.  I'm so anxious to get back to school.  Its crazy to think that hopefully this time next year I'll be starting school as a full time teacher and hopefully be starting grad school.  I've been dreaming of the day that I'll have my own classroom and it's crazy that it's about a year away.  I'm not looking forward to searching for a job.  I hope to teach in the Alpine School District because I love it there, but we'll see.

Next weekend, some of my favorite families from my mission are coming to Utah.  I'm so excited to see them.

Until next time, loves.

lappy toppy

My laptop has been sitting in my closet since mid-May.  The charging cord broke.  It was near impossible to post from my Kindle or Iphone. Last night I posted on Facebook about needing a new cord, a viola, my mom told me to go pick one up at Staples (thank you mommy!).

I've been to Vernal twice today.

The first time was with Lynnzie and Trace.  Lynnz had an appointment with a florist.  Trace really didn't want to sit through the hour long appointment.  So, Trace and I left.  We walked around the block.  Then, he picked all of the dandelions that you can blow (is there a special name for them?).  After, all of that still failed to keep his attention we wandered over to the new library.  It was absolutely splendid.  I want to go back when I have more time to really explore and find treasures. In the children's book section, they had the letters R-E-A-D in the wall.  Trace thought it was hilarious to sit in them.

After that trip, Ryan called and asked if I wanted to go to Vernal with him.  I said sure.  The kid is leaving to go to school on Saturday, so I took this opportunity before he leaves.  He went to Walmart and got a haircut.  We then went to Wendy's.  On the way out of town, Ryan said that he'd done this thing where you lay upside down on an old cement building and look at the city lights.  Apparently its supposed to look like the ocean.  After staring aimlessly for a while, I started to get a little dizzy and then a I saw it! The ocean at night! 

It's better in person, I promise!

On the way home, I got an email from BYU saying I've been readmitted and I am set to go back Winter of 2013.  I have to submit my student teaching application again but it should be easy.  I'm excited for January to roll around. 

When I got home, I headed to Tyler's to watch an Jaws projected onto a screen in his yard.   It was sweet.  I thought I'd seen Jaws before, but I guess not.  However, it was freezing cold. 

I'm so happy to have my laptop functioning again.  I promise I'll be back to my normal blogging self :)