Time Flies...

Ok so I just wanted to catch everyone up on what's been goin on. If I could sum it up: Lots of nothing and no sleep. Needless to say I'm starting early with my good habits :) No, I am definitely getting good sleep tonight. I found out the hard way that it's really no fun to walk around school for 2 weeks straight getting very little sleep at night. Who woulda thought? Anyway, here's some pictures of what's been hapnin the last couple weeks. Enjoy!


This is what happens after we stay out at Jerry's all night. You'll hear more about Jerry's at the end of this post. That's Courtnie's bed with Leah underneath and Callie perpendicular to both of them. I opted to sleep in my bed. Call me crazy!

Wouldn't be a party without a human vacuum or elephant jousting now would it?! Words can't really explain what goes on in Kaitlyn's apartment, so I figured I'd post the pictures and let you guys figure out the rest :) Oh and that's my good friend Bryan pushing my good friend Tanner holding onto my good friend Wendy's feet. They are insane, in case you couldn't tell.

Ignore the beast with no makeup on. This is Me, my good friend Bryan, and Callie on our way to go stargazing at the football field! The all-knowing Joe Larson took his fancy shmancy telescope so we could see the craters on the moon!! And the stars were awesome, but the moon was alittle too bright. We're gonna try again in a week or so. Right Joe? :)

Cheetos Party!! Notice the 3 ft bag of Cheetos on the ground by Serena. Actually they're from Mexico so they're "Totis" or something like that. Anyway, we watched Kung Fu Panda and Get Smart and we ate Cheetos, Cream Puffs, and white chocolate covered pretzels. Remember those Ericka? Good times... good times.

Here we have our little group at Jerry's (Thatcher's version of Denny's). This happens like...3 or 4 times a week at the most unreasonable hours of the day. Yes, day. It's usually about 2 or 3 in the morning. But so much fun! My roommate, Courtnie, far right, works there so either we go visit her while she's working or just go hang out cause we know everyone there. It's lots of fun. Like I said :)

FYI... I CAN'T WAIT TO COME HOME FOR THANKSGIVING!!!! Not that all this college stuff isn't fun or anything, it's just that... I've got plans (a jam session to end all jam sessions! And Chelsea/Stephenie Day!!) and I get to see my family and Ericka's kiddos and to eat Mr. Gs!!!!! PLUS Thanksgiving is the last holiday before.......CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! So yes, I am stoked! It will be grand!

I Stand All Amazed!

Oh my goodness!! I just came back from one of the most amazing firesides OF MY LIFE!! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start...

Ok. Today was one of the best days in general. We were up kinda late and able to sleep in kinda late because church starts at 1:00. So Me, Keari, and Callie get up at 11:30 to go to brunch. It was very good! Tots, french toast, and ham! I was so happy. Our cafeteria is notorious for its less than satisfactory foods, but not this morning! Then we get ready and go to church. Our Relief Society lesson was on the Second Coming. Awesome subject! And it definitely helped me to feel more comfortable about the topic, which always happens when I have lessons about it. Then Sunday School was completely combined, which was lots of fun. Plus my friend was teaching the lesson and we were sitting right up front and he's such a funny guy so... it was great. Sacrament Meeting I got to lead the music. Nuff said! And of course they were some of my favorite hymns. Master the Tempest is Raging! Awesome! And the talks were really good as well. About agency and choice and accountability. It was good.

After church we were asked to help set up chairs for the fireside. I got to push the dolly with chairs back and forth!! It was totally awesome! I was singing and skipping the whole time cause it was so fun and everyone looked at me like I was crazy but, hey what else is new? 10 minutes later a group of us went to the nursing home and sang hymns to the residents! And we sounded so good!!! It was one of the best things I've ever done. SO satisfying! Then our group hurried home and ate dinner together. Corndogs!!! I mean, come on! Can it get better?! I was soooo happy! AND it was a perfect chilly temperature outside and it was sprinkling! Awesome.

Around 6:30 we went to get good seats at the fireside. Front row baby! And the guys sitting next to me were so awesome and one of them turned to Me and said "Do you realize we are going to hear from an Apostle of the Lord?", which I knew but didn't fully comprehend until he said it. I don't even know what to say about the fireside, it was so amazing. First the Tucson Mission President's wife spoke to us, and she was SO SWEET!! I just wanted to give her a huge hug! And soooo spiritual, of course. Then the President spoke. He bore an amazing witness of the Prophet Thomas S. Monson and the teachings that we recieve from the Prophets. Then Sister Christensen (the member of the 1st quorum of the Seventy's wife) spoke to us. She was so sweet as well and had a smile on her face the whole time! She was just so happy, and she spoke about how important the scriptures are to us and it was very good. And then the moment we'd all been waiting for :) Elder Craig C. Christensen, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, spoke to us. First of all, he LOOKED like a general authority. You could just tell he has so much knowledge! And we can have it too! Anyway, the entire chapel sat there in awe, practically, as he spoke of the Holy Ghost and how much we need Him. Also he assured us that this stage we're at right now IS just a stage, and that we need to prepare for tomorrow today. He said he could see the future in us, and that we need to prepare. Tomorrow is today. I was getting SO tired, because it was just like watching Conference and you know how you get all tired because it's SOOO much spirituality to take in at once? That's how it was. All four of them were just the most amazing people and everything they said was so good and so necessary and I could specifically tell that Sister Christensen was prompted by the Spirit to say something about being who Heavenly Father wants us to be. It hit hard, and of course I was crying through the whole thing! :) It was so amazing! Like I said, I don't know if I've ever been to a more amazing fireside. It was like an AMPM: too much good stuff.

Uhkay! :) So anyway, today was probably the best day I've had since I got to EA. I sat there the whole time at church and was amazed at how much I need the gospel in my life! Every single Sunday I am in awe because of how wonderful it is to go to church and how wonderful I feel because of it! Oh! I love it! So much. Today was just exactly what I needed. I haven't stopped smiling all day. I got to meet new people and SING and hear an apostle of the Lord speak to me, almost specifically. It was such a wonderful day! I couldn't keep it in any longer :)

Viva McCain/Palin!!!

Yippie Yay! I VOTED TODAY!! It was probably one of the most excited and intimidating things I've ever done. First of all, I was so careful about filling in the bubbles correctly because I'm a freak like that. Secondly, I had a nightmare a couple weeks ago that I accidentally voted for Obama instead of McCain!! Talk about horror! And third, I just want to comment on the satisfaction of voting. It was soooo awesome!! I was smiling the entire time I was at the polls and I just kept thinking "I'm voting for the next President of the United States!" It was very exciting. And the best part is I had the most awesome feeling as I was leaving the polls! I just felt so good about what I'd done and the fasting and prayers that were contributed as well and it felt amazing to know that I was letting my voice be heard. Haha ok I know I'm getting alittle too philosophical but in all seriousness it was an amazing experience. Let's just hope the results are what we hope they will be. Me and Callie are going to sleep in the common room and try to stay up as late as we can so that we can keep up with the incoming results. Should be fun! What a good day! :)

McCain/Palin and YES on 102!! Woo!

Update!

Just wanted to give a quick little update about the things that have been going on and the things that have been on my mind! So here we go!...

First, this is Callie, Me, and Candice all decked out at our Homecoming Game. It was COLD and we creamed the other team! Aren't we just the cutest? :)

Now for the unpleasantry... I have a problem with EAC. What is the problem, Stephenie? I'll tell you. IT'S JUST LIKE HIGH SCHOOL!!!! I really enjoy going to school here, I really do. It's so much easier to attend a small school with literally 15 kids in my classes and everything withing walking distance and I have really enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, small towns have a tendency to remain in a "high school-like" phase for....ever. The town is not necessarily the problem, it's just that when you know the majority of the students at the school...drama is bound to occur. Therefore, I have experienced more stressful drama in my first 2 months of college than I did my entire high school career. 16 girls living in one community. Go figure.

On a more positive note, the Office comes on in about half an hour!!! And.... CHRISTMAS IS ONLY A MONTH AND A HALF AWAY!!!!! Ok like 2 months but still. I CAN'T WAIT!! I get to see all my cousins and eat 12 boxes of Little Caesar's at my Grandma's house on New Year's Eve and play in the snow and be with my BCF and see all my cousins!!!! It's going to be simply divine.

Oh and as a final note can I just say...viva McCain/Palin!!!! I am sooooo excited to vote next Tuesday! I've never been so invested in an election before, but I feel SO strongly about this one. It will literally change our future. I could probably handle Obama as president (YUCK!), but if Prop 102 does not pass I will cry. I will break down and cry. Because you know what that means? I will be homeschooling my children and they will never leave the house. That's why I care so much about this stuff. I just sit there and think "my kids..." Ugh! Sorry for being a downer again but that REALLY weighs on my brain! I don't doubt that McCain could help us so much more than Obama, but my ideal election would be one with Palin for President! Is it wrong that I want McCain to win and then...die? Hahaha Ok I know it's wrong, but Palin is amazing! We'll just have to wait and see I guess :/ Here's hoping.

My Family is the BEST!!

Ok, I understand that i posted just yesterday, but i have to say this! My family, extended and immediate, is the best family in the world!! Ok i'm sorry i'm trying to calm down.

The thing is... I have missed my cousins so much! It's already pretty clear from my last blog that my attitude towards my sister has completely changed, which is FANTASTIC! I have just learned how much I really care about and miss my family. On that note, I have missed my cousins SOOOOOO much since I got to college! Me and my cousins are all very close. Really really close. So I always miss them when I'm not up in Utah with them, but this is a crazy time! Me and my boys (my twin cousins that double as my best friends :) have started college and they both have amazing girlfriends, which is only appropriate seeing as they are the greatest guys you'll ever meet. EVER! But the thing that hurts the most is that I haven't seen my BCF since last New Years. BCF stands for Best Cousins Forever :) Anelise is my soul mate. We have been best friends, or BCFs, since i was 7 years old or so. I've grown up with her and we've had the best time and she is literally my favorite person in the world. Well, she went to college last year and got CRAZY busy! And like I said I haven't seen her since New Years and we have barely talked since then too, until just recently. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook I have been able to talk to her alot more instead of just hearing everything from her Mom. Anyway, she's been going through a tough time making some SERIOUS decisions about her future, and I am SO glad i got to be involved! Of course I love to be in everyone's business :) but it's different with her too. It's really hard to give her the advice she needs, because it means she won't be my BCF anymore, she'll be my MARRIED BCF. But he is such an amazing guy, I almost don't have a problem with it at all. Ok i'm sorry. The point is I just love her so much! And she tells me that she loves me a whole lot too and I'm almost shocked to hear it because there are so many amazing people in her life that it's weird that she thinks so highly of me. Oh man I am totally just rambling now.

Case and Point: I love my cousins, and i LOOOOOVE the relationship we all have with eachother!! I'm currently talking to 2 of my cousins on Facebook and we all just love eachother! And my boys' girlfriends will tell me how excitedmy boys get when they talk about how I'm coming to visit soon and it makes me feel soooooo good. The other night i was talking to one of my boys, Dustin, and I was like "I love you Dustin!" and he said it back and it made me so happy and then he says "You know, you're the only cousin I say that to", which totally made my night! We are all so close and I can't even imagine what it will be like when we're all married and scattered :( I'm fairly certain that we'll still get together all the time :)

Everytime we have a huge family get-together with all the relatives on my Mom's side, I like to take a few minutes to just sit back and watch and think. And every time I get tears in my eyes as the recurring thought pops into my head "If this is what Heaven is like, I can't wait." And then I cry harder, because I know that IS what Heaven will be like! And I can not wait :)

Just to catch up...

Lake Havasu High School plays Mohave High School every year in the "golden shovel game". The golden Shovel (painted gold) is what both high schools used to break ground when they were being built. Whoever wins the game gets to hold onto the shovel for the year, until they play again. It's the biggest rivalry game in the state. Callie and Danielle are from Lake Havasu so they reeeeeeally wanted to go to the game and see their families and stuff, so me and Sandra joined them! It was soooo much fun! That was 3 weeks ago i think.

Aren't we just the cutest?! :)

We were out on the lake for a good 4 hours and it was sooooo much fun! That was an awesome weekend.

Me, Callie, and Danielle decided to take the Spirit-bus to a football game against Pima Community College. Yeah well...our bus started smoking about 30 minutes out of town. LOL! So we went back to the school, where 2 big vans were waiting to transport us to the game. It was totally fun.

The fair came to town this last weekend!! We all had the day off from school on Friday and everything. Me and Callie went for bracelet night on Thursday and had lots-o-fun!

We were originally supposed to go to Disneyland, but things changed and the four of us decided to go to Julian for Applefest instead!! It was totally fun! This is Ami, Kira, and Aaron standing in front of my dreamhouse in some wonderful small town on the way. It just happened to be having a garage sale that day! We couldn't resist :)

We got some good sister-bonding time on our trip :) It was quite the successful day and we had lots and lots of fun. Good memories.

Well that's what's been going on lately! It's been pretty busy up in here, and i'm going to ASU this weekend to hang out with my Brad!! It's going to rock the casbah. But I probably won't post about it til a month later, after Thanksgiving and such :) Christmas is coming!!! Life is good.

Good Times!

What a night! Well it was the whole week, really. Lots of ups and a few significant downs, but it turned out just fine :) Last night we had an institute dance where we were supposed to dress up as a high school stereotype so... I got to be a cheerleader for a night! And it was totally fun. I borrowed Danielle's (far right) uniform and she did my makeup and put curlers in my hair and everything. Fun fun! On a more random note, the girl right next to me, Callie, and Danielle are from Lake Havasu and came to our Youth Conference in Yuma this last year! Now they live across the hall from me. Can it get more ironic?

Also, I put some blonde streaks in my bangs! Well it's on the underneath of my bangs, so you can only catch a glimpse every once in awhile. Obviously they're very faint, since you can even see them in the picture.

Continuing with the good news, I got another niece on Wednesday! Allison Mae Spencer. She's a total cutie and I think she looks just like Jason. You can go to Jamie's blog for more information. I'm sure it'll be up soon ;)

Oo! I have a really good institute moment. Something happened on Wednesday that had me pretty down. I felt like the lowest of low and just really discouraged. Naturally, I really didn't want to go to Institute, but I was like "well... it always makes me feel better and that's really where I need to be". So I went anyway. I felt like I was just kinda there and still really not in a good mood at all. One of those depression moments. They suck. Anyway, we start singing the opening hymn: "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings..." I just started smiling the biggest grin and laughing. Way to be obvious, right? I still think it's so funny. Just like that i did a full 180 and started thinking about my blessings and I had a great rest of the night! It was so awesome. The next morning brought back some of those discouraging feelings, but I just kept making lists of how I had been blessed and my sadness was sent on it's way. Music is the best. Needless to say I'm that much more excited to start conducting the hymns in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday!

I had a thought while I was typing that story. Is it weird to anyone else that we use "crazy" terms for our church programs? I mean we have a "ward" and "institute".... Seems a little too coincidental if you ask me :)