dinner "with" aunt kathy.

so, everytime that i drive to/from school aunt kathy likes to see me and treat me to dinner/lunch. it is always fun and i enjoy getting to spend time with her. on the way up this last time i was with lauren and hyrum and we still stopped by to deliver some curtains my mom had purchased for kathy. we got there, but kathy was not around, we had not expected to get there so early and neither did kathy. she was off at a church meeting. so we had to be on our way without even getting to see her. it was a bummer. i was pretty excited for her to get to meet some of my friends. well, a few weeks ago i get a card in the mail, and who should it be from? aunt kathy. it said she was sorry she missed me and that she had wanted to treat my friends and i to dinner. it also contained some money which she told me to use to take them out. how sweet is that? it made my day, and lauren and hyrums as well. so, we decided to modify the plan just a little, and instead of us 3 going out to dinner we invited some other people over, and included my roomies and made chicken rolls, broccoli, rice, and brownies with ice cream for dinner/dessert one sunday. we also played cards and then did some mock speed dating and told each other our secrets. it was way fun/ny and the dinner was awesome!

our chicken rolls:

lauren and brandon "praying":

hyrum and i:

six of us at the table:

playing speed uno after dinner:

brandon and caty:

owen and i:

we have kind of been on a kick of actually making real food since then, since it was so delicious. it was a very good dinner and we were all really grateful that aunt kathy made it possible! i love you!

scripture of the day:

James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

today i am thankful for:

* aunt kathy.

* thoughtful people who put a smile on your face.

* my friends and roommates who are all awesome.

* amazing home teachers/fhe brothers who bless my life and help teach me lessons i need to learn or be reminded of.

* my family.

* the good influence other people can have on me.

* the temple.

* that i didn't really fail my nutrition test, my teacher just used the wrong key.

<3.

spiderman gives hugs.

so, last night stephanie and i began the night afraid that we were just going to be home alone, all night, on a friday night. well, just as lauren was leaving on her date three of our favorite new boys showed up. danny, adam, and gabe. they came in for a while and we were just talking and having fun, then our favorite old friend, kyle, stopped by. after a while kyle decided he wanted to go to dinner and asked us all to join him. the new boys had all already eaten, but told us we should go. so stephanie and i went to dinner with kyle and the new boys left. when we got home kyle just dropped us off and told us he would be right back. a few minutes later we hear a knock on the door and when we opened it there he stood ... spiderman!

it was pretty hilarious. kyle always tells us that he is spiderman and tries to display his spidey skills anyway he can. we took a picture and talked for a minute before he decided to go delight others with his spiderfulness, but before he left he informed us that, "spiderman gives hugs." and so i got to hug spiderman. then we called danny, gabe, and adam and told them we were back and that if they wanted to come over again they were more than welcome to. they showed up a few minutes later and we watched how to train your dragon. it was funnier than i remembered it. then right when the movie was ending hyrum and brandon (two more new friends) showed up and stayed until a little before curfew. brandon even joined us for roommate prayer and it was pretty hilarious. in the end it was a super fun night and i was glad i stayed home, not alone. ;)

scripture of the day:

D&C 58: 2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

today i am thankful for:

* my amazing roommates.

* the temple.

* spiderman.

* boys who come over just because they want to.

* boys who invite you to go places.

* laughing.

* giving.

<3.

i'm a natural.

this semester i am taking 7 classes for a total of 16 credits. when i have told people these numbers i have gotten responses such as ...

"are you crazy?!?"

"are you trying to kill yourself?"

"seriously?"

"you've obviously never heard about 'not running faster than ye are able' ..."

now, i didn't really think this was THAT many classes. i mean, i know it is more classes than i'm used to, but it seemed like a reasonable schedule to me. well, i must say, it is A LOT of work, but so worth it. i love taking classes that actually pertain to my major. they just seem more exciting. my schedule looks like this:

my monday's and wednesday's are pretty crazy, but the rest of the week is rather nice. i would have to say that of all these classes "clothing construction 1" is my favorite. i just call it sewing, it's an easier name. our first assignment (to help us get used to using the machines) was to make a pillowcase. i must admit that although my grandmother was an avid sewer, and my mother has sown quite a few of her own projects in my life, i am pretty much positive that i have never sown anything before this class. i was the "slow" kid in the class the day that she was showing us how to thread the machine and get the thread on the bobbin. i felt pretty silly, but after she showed me how i caught on pretty quickly. well, we had a total of 2 1/2 days to cut and sew our pillowcases. on the 1/2 day i did all of my cutting and then i sewed the entire thing on day 1. my teacher was checking out my pillowcase once i was finished and staring at me, looking (and sounding) rather astonished (probably because of my originally lacking skills) said, "you're a natural." i really wasn't sure what that meant, but now i do. "you're a natural" is teacher code for, "you finished so quick and did so well that now i am going to make you do twice as much work as everyone else in the class." haha, that is right. i alone "got to" make two pillowcases instead of just one. that was really okay though, i find that i rather enjoy sewing. it is pretty fun, and pillowcases are easy enough that they are actually relaxing to make. my two pillowcases are different from each other, but both wonderful. here they are:

my first one:

the red looking part is actually pretty orange but you can't tell from these pictures and, the second one:

the part that looks orange in these pictures is really quite yellow, i guess my camera isn't the best. so what do you think? am i a natural? either way i am pretty sure sewing is going to be my favorite class this semester!

scripture of the day:

"A temple is a retreat from the vicissitudes of life, a place of prayer and meditation providing an opportunity to receive inner peace, inspiration, guidance, and, frequently, solutions to the problems that vex our daily lives. A temple is a place where the divine spark in man, or the infinite in man, can seek the infinite in God." -Franklin D. Richards, "Happiness and Joy in Temple Work," Ensign, Nov 1986, 70.

today i am thankful for:

* the temple, and how close i live to one both in rexburg and at home.

* worthy priesthood holders in my ward who go to the temple at 6am so that we sisters can do baptisms.

* music, i have been trying to integrate my playlist of "love songs" into the regular music scene in our apartment and it is making people a bit more peaceful.

* my wonderful roommates!

* kyle and tyler, they are so great!

<3.