As I take time to reflect upon the year that has passed, I recognize the immense amount of strength and knowledge I have gained with the help of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

The 2014 Youth Theme from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was Moroni 10:32, "...come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness." As we would stand up each week and recite this scripture, I would feel the encouragement to keep forging ahead.

A few things in 2014 that have been catalysts on my journey to Come Unto Christ include:

-Attending the temple as often as I can (most often the Provo Temple, but we tried to go on trips and other outings to visit nearby temples and it was amazing).
-Writing my testimony in a Book of Mormon and then giving it to a close friend who was moving away from Provo.
-Studying The Book of Mormon (2013-14 school year) and The Doctrine & Covenants (2014-15 school year) in Seminary.
-Using different forms of social media to briefly share my beliefs.
-Attending a 'Book of Mormon Marathon' this summer and getting to read the Book of Mormon, cover-to-cover in 26.2 hours.
-Getting to be a part of Provo High's production of, 'Waiting for Godot' and recognizing where I stand and how to better live my life.
-Having the opportunity to learn and then teach the young women in my ward 'The Living Christ.'

I'm so grateful for the people I met, the friendships I gained, and the relationship with my Savior that I have been able to strengthen.

I'm excited to start this new year full of new opportunities and challenges and see how much closer I'll be able to come to my Savior in 2015.

At 12:35am on Thanksgiving Day, my sister, Madison, had her baby!! When she told me she was pregnant she invited me to go with her to the hospital when the had the baby. I was SO excited, and the entire time she was pregnant Mad was kind enough to let me feel her baby kick...and it was the coolest thing!! The whole week leading up to when she had him, I was checking my phone non-stop hoping to get a call that she was going into labor :) 

Although my junior year has been absolutely insane (both for my schedule & academic work-load)...I really am lovin' life. I think that I am one of those people that likes to see events on my calendar, or I simply don't feel accomplished. Silly? Maybe. But it's true. :)

DESPITE enjoying my well-packed life, fall break [last Thursday, Friday, and (tomorrow) Monday] was a *much needed* break. This weekend I enjoyed going to movies, sleeping in, catching up with family, eating delicious food...and a fun little 'fall photo shoot' with Annie.

Here are some of my *falling for fall* photos:

Hiccups, Hiking, Hurting...Sightseeing in Steamboat Springs. It seems like my whole life is filled with alliterations these days!

Hiccups: I have this thing...I literally get the hiccups about six times a week. When I was babysitting Kennedy one time last week, she got the hiccups and had them for a REALLY long time! I think baby hiccups are the most adorable things...and it was making me laugh so stinkin' hard. :)
 Hiking: As you may or may not know...I am not one to go on hikes all that often. This summer, though, it feels like I have been on my fair share of hikes for the few weeks we've been out of school! I have "hiked" (okay...it's more like an uphill stroll...but I'm still counting it) up to Bridal Veil Falls twice and went on another hike up past Seven Peaks (not sure what the name of the trail was that we took). It has been really great to put myself out of my comfort zone a few times and enjoy this beautiful world that God has given us! I especially love when I get to see the sunset from a different place than I normally do. :)
Hurting: Oh, my white family...the first day of our vacation (see the next alliteration for more details) we went out to swim but realized we forgot to bring sunscreen. Silly us...we went out anyway! Coming back in after two hours of being out in the sun, we quickly realized just how sunburned we all really were. We all look like tomatoes...and let me tell you; we are all hurting.

Sightseeing in Steamboat Springs: My family decided it would be fun to get away for the 4th, and we ended up agreeing on Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Madi & McKay came with us on Monday morning, and we're excited for Cole, April, & Kennedy Lou to meet up with us tonight! It will be fun to have the whole gang together on vacation. :) This city is so precious! We got to walk down Main Street yesterday and experience the cuteness of the town. I love it here. I'm excited to explore more of it the rest of this week!
Thank you for letting me share my alliterations with you! Hope you're doing splendid. ♥

Wow, summertime is glorious. Thank goodness for the almost-three-month break they give us in-between crazy school years (...not saying I couldn't get used to year-round school...I'm sure I could...but holy cow I love summer)! This summer has been Oh So Very relaxing...and I just happen to be Oh So Very grateful for that fact! I've gotten the chance to spend a lot of time with my dear Momma running errands and stopping at Sonic during 'Happy Hour' one-too-many times. I've also had the chance to go on some *extremely* fun dates and spend quite a few hours with friends making memories that will last a life-time. Thank you to everyone who have helped me to make these 3 weeks of summertime (so-far...I don't want it to be over THAT fast!) simply glorious.

I got the wonderful opportunity to attend EFY (Especially for Youth) this past week. I learned so much there and grew spiritually an incredible amount! One of the things the main speakers talked about was how a few years ago she challenged herself to not complain for an entire year! I was so intrigued by the challenge I decided to take it on myself.

Even though I have only done it for half a week...I've noticed a difference! It makes me really try and appreciate all the good in the world and just forget about the negative. It's amazing what a slight "attitude adjustment" can do to your perspective on life.

I'm excited to see where this journey will take me!