Yikes...college

So I finished my college applications today. A part of me feels I'm not old enough to go to college, or to even apply for college. The other part of me is ready for college and really excited. I'm sorta torn. I'm also torn between schools. I've always wanted to go to BYU for as long as I can remember. Both my parents graduated from BYU and I have two sisters currently attending BYU. But then as I was looking around at other schools, I discovered at USU I qualified for a scholarship. A good scholarship. A scholarship that I would never be able to get at BYU. So the question is should I go to school for free or pay to go to my dream school. BYU is still my first choice but its hard to just turn my head at free school at a really good university. I've got people pulling me in both directions, but ultimately I know its not their choice, it's mine. And I think that makes it a bit scarier. This is the first major decision I've had to make in my life. My choice will affect who, the friends I'll meet, the career I'll have, and who I'll marry. This seems a lot for an 18 year old to decide, especially one who just wrote her college application essay about ice cream. Neither choice is bad; it comes down to good and better. I just have to decide which is which. Wish me luck and I'll let you know when I pick!

Christmas Time Is Here

Usually we have a fake tree downstairs and a real tree upstairs. My favorite part is that we always get a Charlie Brown Christmas tree because as my mom informs me, all trees need to be loved. We always decorate it super cute and it is the most loved tree in the world. Unfortunately, we aren't getting a real tree for our house because we will be spending Christmas at our cabin in Fish Lake. So the fake tree is upstairs, but I still think it looks fabulous!!

How I Spent My Thanksgving

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the fantastic nap that always follows. I don't know whether it is the triptophan or the full stomach, but whatever it is but the best nap of the entire year happens on Thanksgiving. Luckily my uncle snapped a shot of my sisters and I enjoying this great event :)

Happy Turkey Day

This day has been so full with fun, family, and lots of yummy food! I am extremely grateful and aware of how blessed I am. I could just go on and on about everything I am thankful but for sake of time I've cut it down to three things.

1) My family- I know how cliche this sounds but it couldn't be more true. My family is awesome. Not only do I love them but I like them too! This includes my extended family especially my cousins. My siblings and cousins are my best friends and we all get along so well and have an insanely amount of fun when we are together. I also have the most selfless parents and grandparents. They are the best examples to me.

2) Opportunities- I have been so blessed in my life with great opportunities. A lot of the time I take them for granted and I'm working on being more aware of them. So many people to do not have the opportunities I do and a lot of the time I focus so much
on what I don't have I forget about all I do have.

3) The Gospel- Having the gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing in my life. The sense of comfort and peace the gospel brings is amazing. The knowledge it brings me helps me everyday and in all I do. I'm so thankful for that.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!!!

Reviews

Harry Potter 7 and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
-AMAZING!!!! I saw it at midnight and I LOVED it!
-It followed the book really well
-I wished it would have been a bit longer; it felt a little rushed especially the Malfoy Manor part
-They should have included the scene where Harry says goodbye to the Dursleys and there is that moment with Dudley...I love that part
-The best of all the movies so far


Hunger Games
-Finished all three books in 3 days, yeah they're that good
-The first book is definitely the best out of the the three
-I'm a Peeta fan all the way
-Best series I've read in a long time
-Last book...ugh what was Susanne thinking. I was really mad how it played out and it seemed really rushed

Confession

I think that it is absolutely ridiculous that stores have all their Christmas items out before Halloween. I think its dumb that Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, gets practically skipped over with all the commercialization (I might have just made that word up) of Christmas. And although the fact that Christmas music is already being played on the radio is stupid, I can't help but listen to it. I LOVE Christmas music. Ok that is probably an understatement. Christmas music is my favorite part of the holidays, along with all the yummy food :). I can't help but smile when I hear it and sing along, usually too loud and out of tune. But I have held strong and haven't broken out all our Christmas CD's to listen to at home...yet. I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving but all I can say is THIS IS THIS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!!

STATE VOLLEYBALL

This weekend was State Volleyball down at UVU. It was a weekend of mixed emotions. I was so excited to finally be at state; what we had been working towards the entire season. I was a bit nervous also as this was my first year actually playing at the state tournament. And as hard as I tried not to feel sad, I couldn't help it. This weekend was the last time I would be playing volleyball competitively. It was hard to imagine not playing volleyball and not being with my team. I love all those girls so much and have made some of my best friends because of volleyball. It was weird to think that after that weekend I wouldn't be playing with them anymore. We had high expectations and had been preparing ourselves hard.

We started off the weekend a little rough. Our first game was in the morning and apparently we were not awake yet. We lost our first game which automatically meant we were no longer contenders for the state title. The best we could take now was 6th place. It was hard at first but I realized that no matter how much I wanted to change what happened I couldn't. I just needed to focus on doing my best for the rest of the weekend.

We took a break and got some lunch at the mall and headed to our coach's sister's house to relax until our next game. Our second game ended better as we got the win but I felt we had not played our best. It was nice to come off with a win which meant we got to come back Saturday, but I knew that I didn't want to end my volleyball career playing as we had been. You can read about the first two games here

After a good nights rest, we returned Saturday with a tough two games ahead of us. We played hard and had so much fun. We played our best and the kind of volleyball that I can't help but smile when I'm playing. We really came together as a team and battled hard. It paid off and we took 6th place!! It was a great ending to a memorable weekend.

Another great blessing was my back. It didn't bother me at all while playing and I graduated from physical therapy on Wednesday!!

What made things even better was the great cheering section I had. My parents, grandparents, sisters Katie and Amy, brother Thomas, future brother-in-law Garrett, Aunt Stephanie, cousin Cameron all came to support and watch. I have the best family :)

I miss volleyball a lot even though we've only been done for less than a week. It's so weird coming home from school while its still light outside and I don't know what to do with all my extra time. I miss seeing my teammates everyday even though most of us have conditioning class together every other day. Tomorrow night we are having a team sleepover and I cannot wait!!!

Heres some pictures from the weekend

Halloween Dance

Check out our Dance pictures here!!! They turned out super cute thanks to Parker's mom!