First Day of School

School began on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. at Timpview High School. First day okay.. Second day great... Third day better! There are a few classes I need to work on being confident and those are astronomy and geometry. Looks like I'll need a tutor who are good at those subjects because I've been getting slow on the two this past summer. The days got better when the weekend came... a ward party at Uncle Bud's Park, the bike ride with my very good friends Jim and Marianne Larsen, who lived in Rohnert Park while I was there; which they now live in Draper, and the welcoming of Nina and Andrew after they were gone in North Dakota for 2 and a half months doing a service project.

Earlier today, the youth sang the EFY medley, "As Sisters in Zion/We'll Bring The World His Truth," to a missionary who is leaving to serve in Australia. Because it is one of my favorite songs to listen to while it's bringing the powerful message it has, it felt so good to sing.

Have any of you ever felt surprised when you realize it's your last year in high school and think of the day you started Kindergarten? I have. It feels like yesterday I was almost 6 years old when I started as a kindergartner and I turned into a 17-year-old Senior overnight. I can't believe I'm a Senior! Ever since I was a kid, my dream was to go to college so I can be prepared for the adult life and have the opportunities that are available. I'm impressed with the hard work I've done for years in school and are my family and friends. Now this is the year to work hard to graduate and get into the college I want to go to. But I'm remembering to spend every happy moment that is wanting me to enjoy.

Best Days of Summer

This summer of 2011 has been the best of my life! There have been great memories of this summer that I won't ever forget. It started with a youth conference of the Oak Hills 6th Ward up in Lake Powell, which was a magical experience I'd never forget. I apologize I don't have pictures of my experiences there; I forgot to charge my camera and it was the last minute to do it. SO sorry! :(

Lake Powell was an adventure there and I never wanted to leave because of the beauty, peace and happiness it brings. And I have tried new things there I never knew if I'd love doing them. I've learned from them that I can do hard things even when I feel so discouraged I just want to give up.

The summer got more fun when I went to Cali to visit my sis Alexis and my brother-in-law Grant, who were expecting a baby girl. We did a lot of fun things there. One of them was visiting the beach, which is my favorite time doing there and other places with a beach.

The week at Girls' camp was a great opportunity for me to be a junior counselor to the younger girls. It was also a great opportunity for me to be Maid Marian after earning an award for the bullseyes I got in archery.

Two weeks after Girls' camp, I was sick with a fever on a Saturday, two days before the fun week began but recovered quickly after resting and taking things slow and easy. EFY was about to start when I was sick and I prayed so hard that I would get feeling better so I could have the fun that was waiting there for me; EFY in Sacramento was a great experience there. As you could see in this photo above is our group name, "One Heart" because each individual does have a heart for others as Jesus Christ does. As they say at Girls' camp when someone shows they have a BIG heart, "You've got heart!!"

                                   

The summer not only got more fun, it also got more special. We welcomed Lexie and Grant's first child, Ellie Ricks, into our family. And our hearts grew more strong and big for her. I am so excited and happy to be her aunt and have her a part of our lives; while I was at EFY, I thought about how much effort we had put forth by prayer, faith, and patience for my niece to come into this world; I never felt so thankful or happy for this blessing to be given to me and my family. Every time I look at her beautiful face with those eyes, I can see that she's a child of God and she was sent here by Him, who created the earth, because she wanted to be a part of our family. I can also see that she'll be a wonderful girl and a wonderful young woman that we would want her to be.

                                    

A week after Ellie was born, I had my first surgery on my mouth! My bottom wisdom teeth had to be pulled out this summer, and oh boy, did my mouth hurt a lot and I looked like a chipmunk with my mouth swollen. I even looked like Santa Claus with the ice packs wrapped in a white towel around my mouth. I did get spoiled because I got to eat ice cream, yogurt, pasta and all the other good soft stuff I had to have since I have stitches on and my jaw hurts from the surgery. Most favorite time of being a patient, least favorite: my jaw hurting like crazy. The recovery has increased, as it still is, and my mouth is no longer swollen after taking pain medicine and having the ice on my face.

Mom and I were sad to leave Cali to go back to our home in Provo because we didn't want to be far away from Lexie, Grant and baby Ellie. I do wish we'd have more time in the summer to spend with them. I also wish that school would start the day after Labor Day as it used to back in the old days. Why not do it in the same today?

The important part that matters to me the most is that I had the best summer of my life as I will continue to have while I grow older. Today is the last day of summer vacation and school starts tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. I'm prepared and ready to learn new things even though I don't want summer to end yet. Also ready to achieve the goals I had planned this year and I pray that I will succeed.