I COMPLETED MY FRESHMAN YEARRR. HECKKK YE-AHHH!

Basically I am champ. I survived my freshman year, living in the dorms, passing all my classes, not getting married and living in a completely new place on my own. I'd call that a success. This whole year, especially this semester, was very difficult--a giant hurdle to pass and I did without landing on my face...so to speak. 


Now I'm at my Uncle Chris' house, just hanging out with the cousins before I leave for HOME! I'm so excited. To be honest, I will probably cry tears of pure happiness. I am that excited...and to show my excitement, here's a song that helped me get through the week...cuz I'm "coming home". 

Coming Home by Diddy - Dirty Money...the chorus is my theme song.

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday, I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home" --Coming Home, Diddy - Dirty Money

Time Has Flown By...

Okay so my last entry was Wednesday and you know what? I can honestly say I forget what I did on Thursday. All I know is that it was stressful and I cleaned my room...but if you looked at my room now, you wouldn't have guessed we did haha. But anyway, Friday was another fun family adventure. My cousin, Sam, and I needed to buy things at Target, but we got lost. So we decided to head down to our Aunt Cindy's for directions...we ended up not going to Target that night and stayed watching "The Ghost Writer" and something "Wright" and spent the night.

Saturday morning we went to Target, bought make-up, headed back down to Provo, got ready for life in general, then headed up to Highland for an official family gathering. We celebrated Halloween with Trick-Or-Treating and delicious soup. After that, Sam and I headed back home and I hung out with Alison L. and Jonni the rest of the night...and my cousin, Josh, and his friends swung by to say "hi" from their party.

Sunday was Stake Conference.

Monday and Tuesday were rough days.

Earlier this morning (12:00 A.M.) I had to pick my classes for next semester. Let's just say, my schedule is less than satisfactory...If classes don't switch around, I will be stuck with a 7 A.M. class, Monday through Thursday and I won't have my PDBio class...which I unfortunately need for my major. The rest of the day consisted of my normal schedule (my American Heritage teacher dressed up as a Confederate soldier for the lecture...Jonni and I laughed so hard).

For the rest of the day, I plan on reading my American Heritage and going to an intramural basketball game with Stephanie, Jonni's roommate. Woot wooo!

Having People Read Your Blog To Keep Up With Your Life Makes You Feel Like a Celebrity

Let's see...last time I wrote was Thursday. Lots has happened since then. Here we go!

Friday ended up being a long day/night...but in a good way. It started off rough, but with good friends, it got better. I had lunch with Sammi and Miles...they asked me out on a date haha. And we watched "Corpse Bride" and later went to see "Salt" with Jonni, Alison L. and Michael F. It was so good. I did not see the ending coming at all haha. Then we walked two miles to some park near Provo Temple. We just sat there and talked and sometime in the morning we headed back home.

Saturday consisted of laundry and watching "The Pursuit of Happyness" for my essay. Then I went to my Uncle John and Aunt Cindy's to celebrate Uncle John's birthday. Home-made pizza and root beer were on the menu. Delicious. All the cousins were there, as well as Grandma! Then Sam and I left to go to a party...which I didn't go to. Alison L, Jonni, Stephanie and Michael F went though...Sam and I felt like watching a chick flick...we were too tired to dance.

Sunday I had to get up so early for a Visiting Teaching meeting. Following the meeting, I made some hand-outs for the Visiting Teaching Supervisors, went to the hall meeting, and went back to bed...it's Sunday mornings like that that made me grateful for 1:30 church. Following church and dinner, I hung out with Alison L, Jonni, Michael F. and Jonni's friend Emily. Despite the lobby hours, we still hung out (minus Emily) under the bike rack...sometime in the morning there was a freak of nature rainstorm. It was practically going sideways.

Monday dealt with normal classes. I went to a Fitness and Lifestyle Management review. I worked out. I went to FHE. AND I got a small package in the mail. My friend had given me a few CDs and wrote me a letter...it made my day. Even though that day was pretty much the same as normal, it was incredibly stressful and that package made the whole stress of the day worth it. Thanks, friend. :]

Tuesday was rough. Fitness and Lifestyle Management is now giving lectures on emergency procedures and first aid...let's just say the visuals are too graphic for my body to handle. I nearly passed out...several times in class. It got to a point where I wrote, "Get notes from Miles", because I had to put my head down...the instructor even gave a "mini-lecture" on how to prevent passing out before he started the actual lecture...yup, it was that bad. After that class, I worked on my essay. Then I had math. And then, I met up with my peer mentor...it took too long for my taste, but she's nice. Then I headed to math lab, where four problems on the homework and a quiz took me a stinkin' hour to finish. Darn those questions that have multiple answers. But then I went to the nursing home--made my day! I was told "you're so pretty" at least ten times. They're so sweet...this lady, Geri, asked if I had a boyfriend. I told her I didn't. Her response--well what's wrong with them?! Haha, oh Geri, I have no idea. :P And it snowed! Just throwing that out there.

Wednesday. Today! First off, this morning, it was covered with snow! It was incredible! I had classes like normal. My Book of Mormon homework had a malfunction though, so I had to print it off and hand it in...thankfully, my teacher is very understanding. Then I went to the Review Room for American Heritage to review my essay...fifty minutes later, I still was not seen by a TA (Teacher's Assistant) and some guy who had waited ten minutes got seen for me. I had my hand up and everything...three TAs passed me. That moment was the last straw for me, so I left. But then I remembered--my RA (Resident Assistant?) LOVES editing essays. She helped me several times and now my essay is beast. Who needs TAs when you can have an RA like mine? Thanks Amy!

Tomorrow's agenda--classes, another Fitness and Lifestyle Management review, intramural basketball game with Stephanie, and possibly buy snow boots. Who knew I'd need them in October? Bye for now!

Mothers Know Just What to Say...

Well today was another long day. Add homesickness to the mix (yes, I had another moment), it was a very slow, mellow, half-empty day. That is until my mom's "spidy" senses kicked in...looks like I'm not good at hiding my emotions. She could tell something was wrong...and she knew exactly what to say. One thing she said that stuck out was when she said that "failure and struggles are part of the plan. If we didn't have them, we'd be perfect, and if we were perfect, we wouldn't need the Savior. Everyone has struggles and failures; everyone needs the Savior.". College failures--my test scores--and struggles--living on my own, eating right, exercising, studying the perfect amount, having "me" time, having a social life--have been quite a burden. But as my mom reminded me, everyone goes through this in some way at college. All this time, I thought my mom was the epitome of college perfection...I never heard about her failures...only her crazy roommates! haha. I didn't hear about my dad's either, or my cousin, Lindsey's, or my several aunts' and uncles', or really anyone's failures or struggles. I thought I was just alone--the only one to have failed a test (at least in my family) or gotten a test that wasn't an A or high B. It all sounds silly, thinking about my feelings and typing it all down...but to be honest, that's how I felt. But my mom reminded me something I'd lost sight of. No one's perfect. And I'm not expected to be perfect. Turns out, she wasn't either, which to be honest, set my mind at ease also...She simply told me that whenever I feel that way to just turn to the Savior and "stand in holy places, even if that holy place is in myself". I hope that when I'm a mom I'll have that ability to somehow know exactly what to say...love you Mom!

Other less depressing sides of my day (haha), I got to spend an hour and a half coordinating visiting teaching companions and their sisters...you'd think it would be easy, but its not. When you hold stewardship over people, you have suddenly a lot more pressure about their salvation and overall well-being haha. I also had Family Home Evening (or as we call it, Home Evening Group...I'm more of a fan calling it FHE, but whatever haha) and we played poker. I am not good! I lost all my cookies and Andes Mints...oh well.

Agenda for tomorrow: classes (obviously), visit the nursing home, pick my bundle for next semester...it will be another long, busy day. But that's college for ya.

Goodnight Weekend

Right now, its technically Monday. Very early in the morning. But I'd like to give a quick summary of my weekend. Friday night, I went to see BYU Spectacular with my friends Alison L. and Jonni. It was amazing! Everyone was fantastic, but my favorites were the Cougarettes and Young Ambassadors. Then we headed off to Sammi's place for Alison L's surprise party. I kinda gave it away, but it was still a lot of fun. We watched Star Dust (that movie makes me want to name my son "Tristan", no joke) and tried to pull an all-nighter...we failed. haha Then Saturday came and I celebrated Alison's birthday (again) with her brother, sister-in-law, niece, Jonni, Kirsten, and Liz. The food was delicious and we played Life...I got into so much debt because of student loans and home insurance and car insurance...The game of Life sure was living up to its name. And by the end of the game, I didn't even break a million. Oh well. Then my cousin, Sam, and her dad, (my uncle) Arnold, picked me up after the party and we spent the night at Aunt Cindy/Uncle John's house. It was so nice to see family Sunday was a big family get-together day. Our grandma was in town and we had a huge feast of glorious food...mmm-mmm-good.

Now I'm off to bed. Goodnight weekend.

Great Weekend, Not-So-Great Monday

But I guess thats the norm, isn't it? This past weekend was amazing! Friday was Jonni's birthday. We celebrated by talking...haha we had so many plans, but really it all boiled down to us talking. Which all of us were a fan of, so that was totally fine. Tyler (a friend from EFY years ago) came by to visit, which was nice. Saturday was amazing! It was General Conference weekend and I got to go to the Saturday morning session. It was so cool! I loved it. I got to see my friend, Court, too, which was nice. I ended up spending the whole day up in Salt Lake, because our (Alison L. and Jonni) ride forgot to mention they were staying up in SL for the Priesthood session. But it was totally fine because it got us to meet Jericho Road and David Osmond and get their autographs and we got to see our friend Julia from back home. She took us to her grandmother's where we feasted on German food...they had a family reunion the previous day and were having left-overs but they were delicious. And, turns out, Julia's grandma is first-cousin's with President Eyring. Small world! When we heard that, all three of us squealed a little bit haha. On Sunday we also listened to General Conference.

Today, Monday, was another tiring day. After my classes, however, I was surprised by getting mail. Two letters from my two brothers. Both made me laugh so hard. I loved them. I also worked out today and it turns out the clouds of Utah can't really make up their mind on the weather...because one moment, its cold, the second, its sunny, the third, it's pouring! And it just so happened that when I finished working out, the clouds decided to create a monsoon. So I ran/walked through the most bone-chilling rain of my life. It was fun though, just because I miss the rain so much...Utah does not get enough of it.

The rest of my schedule consists of studying, taking a math test, eating and studying some more. Wish me luck on another stressful week! Oh, and my grandma comes in today! I'm so excited! Just throwing that out there.

Can Friday Come Faster?

After Fitness and Lifestyle Management, I had my math class and math lab...not every exciting haha. But after that, I got to skype my friend, Tyler. Turns out, he's going to come down to Provo for General Conference, so we might see each other! Exciting! I also did some laundry and homework. Night time was rough though...I had a little homesick moment. I'll admit it. So I talked to my mom on the phone and then got some running clothes on and just ran on the track outside. Not very long, mind you, but just enough to relieve some stress. Then when my brain decided to stop (because my body wanted to stop...15 minutes before I actually stopped haha), I sat down on the hill with Jonni, who had just finished writing in her journal, and listened to Josh Groban on my iPod. Talk about a soothing voice. I could've fallen asleep, it was that peaceful.

Today, I had Physical Science (a review, and a boring one at that, but what can you do? It's a GE for Pete's sake), American Heritage (we listened to an American Revolution video...in the tune to "Apologize" by OneRepublic haha), and Book of Mormon...let's just say, by the end of it, I was mentally done for the day. After a quick lunch with Jonni and dodging the raindrops on the way back to my hall (yes, it actually rained!), I skyped my friend Jameson, which was nice. Then after reading some homework assignments and getting sustained, Jonni and I headed up to Alison L.'s room, where we read some more and ate pizza. Delicious. And to make my parents happy (who I know will be reading this), I decided to set up my printer! And it works! I'm a genius...haha.

That's all for now! Tomorrow will be Thursday, aka my torture days. But Friday will be amazing! One class, a dance and sleepover with Sammi. So excited! :]

College > High School

Its the fourth week of college and even though the homework kicks my butt, and I'm tired, and the classes are demanding, it is way more fun than high school. Just sayin...

Sunday was a good day. After church, I went to a family BBQ. All the aunts and uncles were there (except for my aunt Karen) and my cousins, including the ones from Kentucky and Ohio, were there. It was so much fun to see everyone...there was also a huge wild fire off in the distance. It looked like a volcano.

Monday was exhausting. But then again, all Monday's are. I didn't feel well, so I skipped FHE. I got to talk to some good friends though, so I guess it was okay.

Today, so far I've had Fitness and Lifestyle Management and now I'm off to math. Fun stuff.

Too Early in the Morning to Think of Something Creative or Clever

I am going to keep this short. One, because I'm tired and need to go to bed. Two, because my eyes are struggling to stay open. So here it goes! Something I forgot about my Thursday: my lovely roommate brought me back some Costa Vida...I forget what it was but it was gloriousss! Friday: I had my class, I cleaned my room, found out my pipe was leaking, got that fixed, turned in homework, watched a movie with some girls from my hall (and cousin!) and then more of us went to the dollar theatre (Knight and Day). We got back around 3 in the morning. Then my cousin, Sam, slept over at my dorm and that was good. Saturday: Woke up at 12. Walked over to Sam's place and then came back to my dorm and got ready for the day. Sam glammed me up with eye make-up and curly hair. Then Sam, Jonni and I walked over to Sammi's house to have a tie-dye party! Besides us (and Sammi) there was Miles, Alison, Andre, David and Sammi's roommate Jessica. After food and tie-dye, we had an unexpected movie night. And we just got back...over all, it was a fun night and overall fun weekend...well worth the wait. :]

I Miss the Weekend Already and Its Only Monday

My whole weekend for the most part was quite enjoyable. On Friday, there was a 70's dance/event, which was pretty fun. Even though they ran out of tie-dye, Alison L., Jonni and I got two free white t-shirts...so we'll be having our own tie-dye party soon. We also got our faces painted and then danced the night away (a guy from my ward Sammy and a friend of his joined us). Then after the dance, we all got ice cream (despite the cold) and headed over to May hall where we hung out with other people as well. I learned how to play signs...seems to be a cut-throat game. Either that or the people who I'd send the "sign" over to wouldn't pay attention so I'd get tagged haha. But no hard feelings.

Saturday was a good day. I got up early, studied some math, and headed down to the testing center, only to find it was closed...so I spent a few hours doing homework and then my roommate Alison N. drove me and Jonni down to Riverton, where we saw our relatives. It was so good to see them and to have a home-cooked meal. My aunt Vickie found out I forgot to buy computer paper when I bought my printer last week (oops...), so she gave me a whole pack of it. That was very sweet of her. And later on, my uncle John took me and Jonni home.

Sunday was a fantastic day. We had Regional Conference and we got to hear talks from Brother (or should I say Elder?) Snow of the Seventy, Sister Beck, President of Relief Society, Elder Holland of the Twelve, and Elder Packer, President of the Twelve. I loved every single talk. The only downside was sitting on the uncomfortable bleachers for more than an hour haha. But actually listening to them and being in the same room with them (a plus to being in the same state as the General Authorities for sure) outweighed the seats. After R.C., I invited my cousins Sam and Lindsey and her husband Kaleb to have lunch with me. It was good to see them and talk to them. It lasted two hours, but it was very enjoyable haha. After lunch and Book of Mormon homework, I headed out to the Fireside, where Elder Scott would give his talk. It was so beautiful, hearing him talk so sweetly about his wife and children (yes, the talk was on marriage), it made me cry. I love it when General Authorities talk about their wives...you can tell they still love each other, if not more than they did as newly weds. I want that in my life. I told Jonni, "We need to find 'Apostle Potentials" as our husbands"...and we will someday! haha

Later on in the evening, I had some girl talk with Alison N., Alison L., and Jonni. Never have I laughed so hard in those short hours...haha. Just thinking about it makes me laugh.

Today is Monday and besides classes, I took my math test...it was open this time! haha. I did pretty good for my first college test. I was exhausted though...but my lovely roommate bought me a little drink to help me wake up haha. So sweet of her. And later on today, my plan's to work on homework, do some laundry and go to Family Home Evening! Busy, busy!

Sticker Shock, Check-Ins, and NSO--So Many Things To Do!

First off, I would like to apologize to the blog stalkers (haha, just kidding family and friends!), turns out you need a special cord to get on the internet...so there's a lot of stuff to catch up on! So let's start with the day before yesterday! :]

The day before yesterday (Tuesday) was another sticker shock day. Honestly, you think tuition and housing and meal plans are crazy expensive...add books and more supplies (yes, our first day wasn't quite sufficient for the demand of college life and preparation) and you feel like you're digging yourself into a pit that could soon make you unable to get yourself out. Debt? No...not yet. But it does make one slightly worried. I went to a Financial Survivor lecture today and the lady said, "It is socially acceptable to be below poverty level as a college student". Truer words were never spoken. :P haha

Yesterday was check-in day. Talk about long and exhausting. We (Mom, cousin Bailey and I) got into my hall and spent four hours organizing and sanitizing and whatnot. Later Aunt Karen joined in. It was getting a little crazy haha. But we finished and my room looks great! Thanks everyone! :]

Today was the first day of NSO (New Student Orientation). Honestly, it seemed way "EFY-ish" to me haha. Not that EFY is a bad thing (trust me, I loved EFY), but I don't know...it seemed a bit much in my opinion. But the most useful thing (for me) was the financial lecture meeting thing (yes, Mom, I did go! haha). Very informative. After all that jazz, my cousin Lindsey picked up my friends Alison L. and Miles and took us over to our friend Sammi's house. We then went to dinner and (Alison and I) walked back home. Alison and I learned to one, get better acquainted with the campus (We got lost haha. Thank you, random biker who gave excellent directions!) and to not walk back from Sammi's house when the sun is setting...haha lessons learned.

Tomorrow's agenda: NSO...and who knows what else after that.

Knowledge Is Power, But It Comes At A Price

Today was the biggest "sticker shock" day of my life. I had to buy my books, my packets, my pedometer, my Iclicker. I had to buy laundry soap, bed sheets, hangers, dorm room supplies galore. I had to buy new glasses. Something I learned very quickly was that money goes fast! And the sad thing is that we're still not done.

But lucky for me, there were some new bits of "knowledge" that were free. Aunt Karen decided to give me a hair lesson and make-up lesson after my trim. Not to toot my own horn, but once she was done, I looked good haha. Now hopefully I'll be able to maintain it! Another tid bit--my throat started hurting...slightly paranoid that it was strep throat or something, I was worried. But Aunt Karen whipped out her special oils and prepared a remedy that could cure whatever was in my body and just to be safe, she wrapped cabbage around my throat (after putting some essential oils on) and told me to have it on for 45 minutes. "It'll hurt like the demons," she said, "but it works." And she's right. It feels like my throat is on fire. But if it works as much as it hurts, then I'm sure I'll be fine.

Rolled, Sprained, or Twisted, Doesn't Matter What It Is, It Hurts

Literally ten mintues before we were going to go to the family dinner, I was going to take out Uncle John's dog. His dog is a big dog and as I was going out the door, so was she. The combination of the dog blocking my sight and my weak perscription in my glasses made me mistake the step for a flat porch. One second you saw me, the next you heard a big boom with me on the floor. My ankle failed me haha. It hurt a lot, but it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't walk. So we all got in the car and drove to Aunt Karen's and Uncle Bob's house, where I grabbed some ice and wrapped it around my ankle and did "RICE". Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. This required me to lay on the floor and prop my foot on a couch armrest. I was quite the party pooper haha.

But, on the brightside, the food was delicious and the company was good. Mmmmm. Nothin' better, my friends.

Tomorrow's agenda: heading out to BYU to buy books and get my ID; order glasses; get hair trimmed; get school supplies. Very hectic.

The Great Laptop Search and Other Bits and Bytes

Yesterday was pretty fun (and somewhat stressful). The stressful part happened in the beginning of the day. After going to bed around 2 and waking up around 8, I got ready for something I've been dreading for a long time--laptop shopping. Laptops are amazing, don't get me wrong. But trying to buy a laptop for the best price with Best Buy guys trying to convince you that a certain $400 dollar laptop (with a $200 dollar warranty) was the best deal ever (not), and having a variety of laptops at Sam's Club and Costco makes you completely overwhelmed. Lucky for me, I have an uncle (John) who is a complete genius in this computer field (he doesn't think he is, but compared to me, he is the Einstein of computer knowledge). With his help, I got a laptop for a decent price, a very nice warranty, and some peace of mind. Thank you, Uncle John!

The fun part happened afterward. My mom and I met up with Court, my good friend and my mom's "third son". We ate at Cafe Rio and after lunch, we headed towards the University of Utah campus, where Court showed us around (it is quite beautiful, regardless of the BYU/U of U rivaly haha). After the campus tour, we went to the Gateway (the mall). It is much better than our mall back home, if I do say so myself. And then we went to see his new home where he's staying with his grandparents and aunt. It was very beautiful, the home and the view. Then Aunt Vickie picked us up from Court's and we said goodbye.

Later on in the evening, we (Uncle Chris, Aunt Karen, my mom and I) went to my Uncle John/Aunt Cindy's house, where my mom and I would stay the night. Never have I laughed more in a couple of hours in my life. When my aunts and uncles and my mom get together, they are absolutely hilarious. It makes me very excited for when my siblings and I meet up together.

Today is now Sunday and later on, all the Utah family (minus Aunt Vickie and some or all of her family, because of another thing) will get together for our big Italian family feast. I can smell Uncle John's sauce and meatballs from here...it's going to be sooo good! Ciao!

Pools, Drive Ins, and Lunch Dates, Oh My!

So yesterday, after waking up from the tent, my aunt had an idea--going to the pool! Fun going with your cousins, right? Yes. Fun going with your cousin's cousins, who aren't really your cousins, so its like you're one step above strangers and you have to hang out with them a bunch?...Debatable haha. The one "cousin" who was closest to my age and also going to BYU (Taylor) left to play Fantasy Football (or was it baseball?). The other "cousin", Megan, was hanging out with her younger cousins. This left my cousin Jacob and Brayden and my Aunt Vickie, who I spent most of my time with.

While we were there, I got Brayden hooked onto the diving board (Although I got yelled at by a psycho lifeguard for still being at the edge of the pool just in case Brayden needed to be pulled up. In my eyes, she should thank me. I was closer to saving a potential life than she was and I wasn't even getting paid for it. Punk.). After a couple of dives, Brayden seemed to get the hang of it. "I'm gonna do a front flip!" he said. "Brayden, I don't think that's such a good idea. You might smack your head or your stomach." I warned. Brayden then said, "Megan, I'm not gonna hit the bottom!" I left, telling him to be careful and highly suggested he just stuck to running off the board. Five minutes later, Brayden came back to where we were staying, crying and the side of his stomach bright red. Even though he went back to the boards and stopped crying, I still felt bad.

Later that evening, Aunt Vickie and her sisters decided to go to a "Drive In Movie". It must be a dying breed, because they don't even have those in Northern Virginia. So I tagged along with some of the Filoso clan (Aunt Vickie, Ali, Noah) to the movies where we met up with the "cousins" we'd seen earlier. The movies? Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. Best two movies ever. By the time the movies were done, it was past midnight and by the time we got home it was 1 in the morning.

Today's agenda (that I know of) deals with going to buy a laptop with my uncle, John, and my mom, and going on a lunch date (again with my mom) and also my friend and my mom's "third son", Court. I haven't seen him in ages, so it should be fun.  :]

Tupperware, Tents and Trampolines

Even though only a few days passed since my last blog, so much has happened! So I guess I'll start from the moments after I made my first blog post. I was just relaxing with my cousins. My mom and my aunt Karen had already gone to Education Week at BYU. My uncle Bob had already left for work. My cousin, Josh, had gone to his job. Emily was gone (she did a night hike up to Mt. Timpanogos...I think) and was going to come back later in the morning. That meant that only Katie, Jared, Jacob, Ali, Justin, and I were at the house. But eventually Emily joined the home-bound ranks and we all just went about our morning business.

Not long after Em got home, my mom called and told us that we should help my cousin Lindsey and her husband, Kaleb. They had to move all their stuff into a new apartment. Not too hard right? Well, after Katie's ortho appointment, and Lindsey measuring someone's driveway for Kaleb's job, we finally headed towards the apartment. A bunch of lifting, organizing and disinfecting later, we hit a stopping point around 7 o' clock.

That's when Linds told Kaleb they had to meet up with friends...and that we had to stay at the apartment until Mom and Aunt Karen finished Education Week for the day--"around 7:30 at the Marriott Center" Lindsey said. We were told to wait in her old apartment until they called for me to pick them up...pick them up? Is she serious? I was to go to BYU campus and navigate my way through the streets of the campus I've only been on one time to pick them up? A little panicked, I was relieved to find out Katie knew the way and let Lindsey and Kaleb go off to their next destination.

We were pretty calm and okay with the whole situation...that is until we found out that to get on the computer you needed the manager password. The password Lindsey forgot to mention. I looked at the time on my cellphone. By then it was around 7:15...might as well leave to pick up Mom and Karen right? So we all headed in the car and I drove off. This drive proved to be more stressful than when I was trying to learn how to drive back in my permit days. Not only was I driving in a new place, my "co-pilot", Katie, couldn't tell her right from her left and Ali kept screaming "we're gonna die" about every minute or so. When we finally got to the Marriott Center, it was a little past 8, my nerves were raw, I was hungry and my patience was just about empty. When I called to let my mom know where we were, I discovered that Education Week wasn't over...the last lesson ended at 9:20. This meant that we had to wait until then to leave. And to make it worse, they weren't at the Marriott Center...they were at the Wilkinson Student Center. My mind was sarcastically saying at this point, "Welcome to BYU campus, where we love to keep you hostage".

After finding a new parking spot closer to the Wilkinson Student Center, we found our moms waiting at the cafe area. My mom handed us some money, and with my $8 in hand, I bolted to the shortest line in the room, only to satisfy my hunger pains with Japanese take-out (that was nowhere near as good as my Japanese grandmother's, but beggars can't be choosers). Dinner ended, so Katie, Ali, and I went through the bookstore, where Katie and Ali bought (in my mind) candy that was too expensive. That only killed about 15 minutes, so we left and sat in an open seating area. Eventually 9:20 came around and so did our moms. We finally left BYU and got home around 10:30.

The next morning, my cousin, Brittany, and I decided to go to Education Week for a few hours. The lessons were pretty good and the speakers were great which made walking up and down BYU's freakishly tall and long stairs worth it, one of which is called "God's Stair-Master"--even if we both had lung burn and "jello" legs by the end of it. I joked with Brittany saying, "if I don't have nice legs by the end of my first freshman semester, I'm going to be so upset".

When we left BYU, we headed back towards my Aunt Vickie and Uncle Chris's house. I stayed there my first night in Utah and was eager to see them again. A short visit became hours and by the time evening hit, Brittany's boyfriend, Noti, was at the house, as well as my aunt's family. By the time they left, it would've been a pain to drop me off back at Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob's. So my other cousins, Jacob, Noah and Brayden set up a tent on their trampoline, grabbed a bunch of pillows and sleeping bags and slept outside in the tent on the tramp. It was surprisingly comfortable and fun. Ali (there are two Ali's--a Karen/Bob Ali and a Vickie/Chris Ali) was just getting over a sickness so she stayed inside.

Now all of us in the tent, except Jacob, woke up from our sleep. I'm not sure what the rest of my day has in store, but if it was just as fun as yesterday or as eventful as the day before, I'm sure it will be "blog worthy" and I'll let you know.

Peace out boy scouts.

Fresh Start in Utah

Yesterday I arrived in Utah--my new home for the next four years. Crazy! I decided to create a blog, one because it's probably easier than writing in a journal every day and two, anyone can read it. So this will be used to write down all my adventures in Utah at my dream college, BYU.

So far, I have said goodbye to my family back at home and now I'm staying with my Utah family who I haven't seen in five years. Right now, I'm in love with the Utah mountains and air--no humidity. Yesterday, it was 90 degrees but it felt better than Virginia in 80 degrees! I also got to go see the BYU campus (first time ever) and I loved it. The campus was beautiful and I got a lovely tour from my Aunt Vickie haha. But the only confusing thing are the names for the buildings...too many to memorize! So I'm going to have to study the buildings before I go or else I'll get lost! But I'm so excited to go there! Only a few more days! :]