Transition Time

This week marked a very LARGE milestone for my career life. I was offered a student teaching position starting January 16 :) CRAZY. I am full of all sorts of emotions including anxiety, anticipation and inadequacy. I will be teaching the second half of the Old Testament. Ya I don't know. I can think of Jonah and the whale.. Daniel in the Lions den.. David and Goliath.. that's 3 lessons. I have to teach like 50. AH! haha but I really am excited to have my own little class... well 2 classes to be specific.

The only really bad thing coming out of this is that I don't have time to work at the bank and also teach. Sad day. I absolutely love the bank. I love the people that I work with and I enjoy the clients that I have built friendships with.. and I am just going to miss it so much! I have been with working for this bank almost 4 years now. That's a long time! I won't lie.. after working as a teller for that long I am pretty good at my job. It's easy and I'm really comfortable with it. When I leave work I leave all thoughts and worries about it there.

Now switching from a job that is easy (granted there are days when it isn't, but as a general rule) to a job that challenges me in every sphere of my being is scary! Teaching is a game that cannot be won. A beast that is never conquered. The minute I think I figured it out, the Lord totally throws me a curve ball and I realize how small I am without His help! It's a beautiful process to learn and grow, but man it can be difficult sometimes!

Let's just say that a chunk of my Christmas gifts will be cardigans and skirts :)

"That's not that big of a difference!"

OH THE BANK..

Today I was working at the good ol' bank and there were these boys in a little suv in lane three. Tyler (my co-worker) and I were talking about how I need a date for this thing going on this weekend and we joked about asking the boy in lane three that I was helping. I laughed and sent the kids receipt to him. The boy turned to his friend and his friend looks at me and they both look over and are kinda chatting.. Then I hear Tyler say into the intercom "Dude just ask her.." and I turned to him and was like WHAT?! The boys ERUPTED with laughter

JOSH- I don't even know her name!

It's Kaylen.. she told you that when she completed your transaction...

(I am TOTALLY red in the face, embarrassed, & laughing hysterically because there is no way that his kid is more than 20..)

ME- Joshua.. How old are you?

19!

(me laughing)

I'm 22...

Really?? (thinks for a minute) That's not that big of a difference

I could tell you wanted to ask for her number.. so if you're cool with the age thing then I guess it's up to Kaylen..

(me still laughing while I write my number on a peice of paper)

Joshua this is going to make a great story.

You're really sending your number out!?

Why not.. (still laughing)

I sent out 2 candy canes, he said he'd call me, and they left. HILARIOUS. Tyler and I joked and giggled about that the rest of the shift. He seemed like a super cute kid but to put things in perspective-- six months ago he could've been my seminary student. SO SO SO funny. He texted me this afternoon and I told him to call me in a couple years haha.

Kaylen's dating life has been diminished to 19 year old bank clients. Not promising ;)

I had tithing settlement the other day and I was looking over my paper and I noticed this:

It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside :)

Thanks Mom and Dad

{31 Oct 2011}

my cute roommate who I haven't thought of a blog name for yet...

Me as a flapper girl.. legit.

QJ as a garden gnome.. legit.

Kaylen as a gnome.. not so legit.

.cute cuzins.

Going to school at BYU can be overwhelming. There are a million people everywhere you go.. I went days without seeing a single person that I knew last year. After going so long without seeing a familiar face I would go to the BYU bookstore and find Brother :) He made EVERYTHING better. Then he decided to do something with his life, so he had the audacity to take Baby and Oldest to AZ and left me all alone it P-town...

.... EXCEPT that my cousin Clark started as a freshman this year :) I LOVE being with family.

Last year I had a sport pass with Brother and Oldest which was a blast.. but Clark is as great a replacement as I could ever wish for :)

We go running a couple times a week together-- which turns into relationship or school work venting hour. This way we both keep mentally AND physically healthy!

Last week we planned a double date :) I hosted and we both brought the person that our recent running conversation had centered on.. This was great to put a names with faces haha.

QJ and me ---- Amy and Clark

(SIDENOTE: QJ is in my ward, he's in my dinner group, and he's my hometeacher. I see him frequently to say the least haha. At dinner group I told him to plan on 8:00pm... Then I dunno why but I just figured he would come over. Well I had to go to the store to get pumpkins and I was looking rough so I touched up my make up a little and then just put on a striped t-shirt. Clark shows up and Amy is in an ADORABLE dress with cowgirl boots and Clark looks handsome.. I was like 'Guys you realize we're carving pumpkins right??'. At around 8:15 QJ showed up (also looking nice) and I was brushing my teeth. I said 'QJ what took you so long to get over here??' and he said 'Well I was over at my apartment just sitting on the couch waiting for you to come pick me up since YOU and ME on a date. My roommates were all like 'dude what are you doing'.. so then I figured you weren't coming so I just came over...'. This is the point in the story where Kaylen feels like an idiot for the second time. The first was because everyone looked really nice and I had on a tshirt and skinnies.. and then second because I'm a terrible date. dang.)

Clark and Amy's looked better in the light..

But when we lit them up QJ's and my tree looked pretty sweet!

We didn't have candles so we lit paper towels on fire ha the effect was temporary but that flame coming out of the top is pretty sweet!

Long story short I love having Clark around :)

We are bestest friends.

Elders Quorum

Today I taught Elders Quorum in my old ward.. It was a great experience! The EQ President asked me about 1.5 months ago to talk about dating and relationships and I've been stressing ever since. Today was the day!

I taught. It was fun.

Then I got home and I had a text from Jaime (last year's Relief Society President). She said:

"This is the text that I got from _______ today-- 'Kaylen just taught priesthood! She gave us some female doctrine on dating, relationships and priorities.. the guys all loved it. No one inspires me or motivates me more than she does when she gets on her high horse and gets preachy and demanding, i love it. I feel like I wanna repent, go to the temple, go work out, wash my car and try to be a better man...' "

HAHAHAHA That is one of the funnest compliments I've ever received.. I don't know if it's a good thing for me to be "preachy and demanding" but if that's what will get boys to clean out their cars then I guess it worked! ;)

My First Day

Today was my first day in the classroom. It was amazing. I loved being with those kids. I loved their personalities. I loved their questions-- their desire to learn and be taught. They were the best! I want to be with them every day! I want to get to know their different circumstances! I want to be able to teach and administer to them. I want to be their friend and mentor. I want to help them discover the beauty of the Gospel. I yearn for them to seek Christ. I want them to feel the POWER of the Holy Ghost. I desire nothing more than for their success and progression!

All in all it was humbling, yet empowering. I learned some lessons and gained some valuable first hand experience.

It was happyness.

What I Think About.. when i don't have anything to think about

"Because of his great love for science, Henry Eyring Sr. encouraged each of his sons to major in physics as preparation for a career in science. It was while Hal [currently President Henry B. Eyring] was studying physics at the University of Utah that an exchange with his father marked one of those defining influences. He asked his father for help with a complex mathematical problem. “My father was at a blackboard we kept in the basement,” Elder Eyring recalls. “Suddenly he stopped. ‘Hal,’ he said, ‘we were working this same kind of problem a week ago. You don’t seem to understand it any better now than you did then. Haven’t you been working on it?’”

A little chagrined, Hal admitted he had not. “You don’t understand,” his father went on. “When you walk down the street, when you’re in the shower, when you don’t have to be thinking about anything else, isn’t this what you think about?”

“When I told him no,” Elder Eyring concludes, “my father paused. It was really a very tender and poignant moment, because I knew how much he loved me and how much he wanted me to be a scientist. Then he said, ‘Hal, I think you’d better get out of physics. You ought to find something that you love so much that when you don’t have to think about anything, that’s what you think about." -SOURCE LINK

Seminary teaching is THIS for me. I think about it constantly. I come home from my Methods of Teaching class and I am invigorated! I want to teach :) and that's why Tuesday's are the best days.

Funny Dad

This is an excerpt from my my little sister Sass's blog and I HAD TO SHARE:

" ...But this did put a smile on my face:

A stake dance was being held across the street in the pavilion and my dad decided that he wanted to join in. This is him dancing on the porch, where I am sure all those 14-16 year olds could see him, seeing as our porch light was on. Haha! Gotta love dad's dancing! You should see him dougie, or what he likes to call the "doggie." I think I got my dancing skills from him. ;)"

We have the greatest dad ever haha. Thank you Sass for brightening my day! LOVES

Today is the big day!

BYU vs U of U

I washed my hair, painted my fingernails, etc!

Sporty Spice had her little baby at 12:35am this morning :) it was kind of a rough labor, but we're grateful this little angel is here!

8 lbs 5 oz! Holy smokes! and 20 inches long.

...even she has cougar fever!

Love you Sporty! and Go Cougs!

A Couple Things...

1- I finished 'The Help' on last Tuesday.. not Monday like I had planned, but I was still proud to get one novel in before school consumed my life again. I saw the movie.. Loved it.

2- I told myself I would NEVER write a missionary again.. But since Lakyn is one of my most bestest friends I will make this last exception :) If you want to keep up to date on her emails GO HERE! I am keeping her blog up to date.

She never ceases to amaze me though. She is one of my heros.

3- My car sounded like it had swallowed a motorcycle today.. it was scary. My first thought was call Ray... because he is so handy with things like that! I hesitated because we've really added space between us since I moved to a different end of Provo, but then I just really didn't know what else to do. So I called him. He answered and I told him about my car, etc. Then I asked if he was busy or if I had interupted anything and he said Well I'm in class right now but when I saw that it was you calling I knew it was either an emergency or something important. Why does me melt my heart ALL the time!???? He is the best. I was right by UVU so I pulled in and he looked under my car and this is what we saw:

Slightly problematic. If you are mechanic illiterate like I am, then I will inform you that that is my muffler that is hanging out of my car. So I limped to a mechanic and got it fixed for $40! It was a lucky day for sure... But can I tell you a secret? Seeing Ray made me cry. Not bawl and pour tears, but a tear or two came out because he is so great. POR QUE??

Well that's about all. Spent a fun weekend up in Idaho cutting down trees and playing with cousins, washed Civie (I figured she deserved a treat for only costing me $40 today), etc.

Loves--

today I bought myself a present...

I was in Costco and I saw this book. I sat and debated for a while whether or not to buy it. Then I thought "Kaylen- you haven't sat on your butt and read a good book in a long time. Buy the book." So I bought it :) The lady that was in line behind me at the check stand said she loved it and highly recommended it! That's when I knew I made the right choice.

My goal is to finish it before school starts Monday.

*Miss Priss*

*photos taken by Ray with 12 hours notice. He is the best.

perspective.

it's different when you know them.

RestInPeace - Daniel

Modesty via {Emma Watson}

Now I don't really get the whole twitter/tumblr/tweet/whatever lingo.. I dunno if they're all the same or if they're different, but this was the post Emma Watson made on her Tumblr site on July 4:

I find the whole concept of being ‘sexy’ embarrassing and confusing. If I do an interview with photographs people desperately want to change me - dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there’s the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that’s not me. I feel uncomfortable. I’d never go out in a mini-skirt. It’s nothing to do with protecting the Hermione image. I wouldn’t do that. Personally, I don’t actually think it’s even that sexy. What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt, have a look at everything I’ve got?’ My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder.

--Emma Watson

I knew liked her.

{Niece}

The Marathon started yesterday at 1:30am when Brother and Oldest were kneeling down to say their prayers... Brother made her laugh and """POP"""... she was done!

I got that pic in a text from Brother at 2 am and then at 4 I got a call from him that said they were at the hospital and that she was starting the epidural... He said he didn't anticipate her delivering until about 11 in the morning so I could sleep and come in the morning.

Well it went MUCH slower than anyone expected. I went to my Book of Mormon class and at 11 headed to the hospital where she only dilated to a 3.5 when I got there. Oldest had high blood pressure, so they were watching her closely and Baby's heart rate was really struggling.

She was super uncomfortable because she could only be on her right side. Every time they rotated her to her left side Baby's heart rate dropped. Also oxytocin was given to her so that they could stimulate contractions, but that also made Baby's heart rate really drop.

So we sat in the room. Every half hour they would come check her.. tell us she had dilated maybe 1/4 a centimeter and then try to slowly increase the oxytocin in hopes that Baby would co-operate.

This was the party at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon when everyone was calm and excited... it didn't really last long.
Then came the stretch.

Once the water breaks, it starts a clock. If the baby hasn't delivered in 24 hours then it's definitely a c-section situation... So we sat in the room staring at the monitor-- watching her little heart beat rise and fall. The beep was enough to just drive you insane because anytime it slowed we all stopped at prayed it would rise again... Bro and I did our best to distract Oldest but she had really bad heartburn and she was in a lot of pain from being on her right side for like 10 hours... Her epidural worked like a charm, so she didn't feel a lot of pain, but the poor thing was so uncomfortable!

About 4 she was done. The stress of the baby and her blood pressure just weighed on her. She hadn't eaten anything but ice chips since dinner the night before... she was exhausted from having been up for almost 24 hours. Mom and Me made an exit to get some dinner and left Oldest and Brother to kinda have time together.

When we came back she was shaking uncontrollably. I guess it's normal to shake, but her muscles were so tight from not moving and then her adrenaline really started to kick in as she got more and more anxious about the baby. It was about 6 that they decided that they were going to do a C-Section because she was only dilated to about 5 cm.... The only problem was that there were FIVE scheduled before her. FIVE OTHER C-SECTIONS. Welcome to Utah right? Holy Smokes. So we waited. We rubbed her down and massaged her shoulders so that she would relax a little. About 8:45pm the nurse came in to check her and I had a call from my Aunt, so I went into the hall to answer.. then I saw a couple nurses go in the room.. 2 came out and were talking as they passed me in the hall. "Ya, somethings definitely going on in #12.." I looked again and the anesthesiologist came running down the hall and into her room. I got off the phone and ran in. They had her bed out and were unplugging all her tubes, wires, etc and prep-ing her for an emergency c-section. The Baby's heart rate had really started to drop and they bumped everyone else back and rushed her in.

I won't lie it was one of the scarier moments of my life. Oldest ALWAYS has her composure. Especially in medical situations because she sees stuff like this all the time at work, but the look on her poor face as they started to roll her out was sheer terror. It shattered my heart. I cried for almost 10 minutes solid after she left. I was exhausted.

At 9:45ish they rolled Oldest back into the room. She was cold-- shaking and shivering like crazy. They said that Baby was fine and they had her hooked up to a breathing machine that was helping to open her lungs all the way and then they had to do a couple tests... after that they would bring her out. By now the whole fam was there and we just sat anticipating the baby coming... Brother was the only allowed up in NICU. At about 11 my family finally gave up hope of seeing the little angel because they had to drive home, but I stayed and helped Oldest get situated in her new room.

About midnight Brother came down and said that I could go up with him to see her.

She was attached to a respirator and it was kinda freaky! Her little chest looked almost like it was vibrating because it was rising and falling so fast... She was pretty pale, but Brother said that she was white as a piece of paper when they pulled her from the womb, so her color was improving..

See! The top one is last night and the bottom one is from today.. she has a lot less redness and a lot more natural pigment today. Anyway I left the hospital last night at 1 and crashed. I felt like I had been hit by a train this morning.. I can't imagine how Oldest and Brother felt...

a little bit of her Strawberry Blonde hair :)

My Aunt is an NICU nurse, so when she started her shift this morning she had Baby put on her rotation. Thank heaven because there is so much comfort in knowing that your family member is taking care of her. We also found out that last night they were really down playing the situation.

Baby (she is still unnamed) had a knot tied in her umbilical cord, so she was being shut off from nutrients when she was moved into certain positions.. She had high CO2 levels, low sugar levels, fluid in her lungs, and her blood PH level was wrong. My aunt said that from reading the notes that took in her chart last night things were kinda scary for a while there, but this morning they took her off the ventilation machine and she is breathing perfectly. Her oxygen levels are great. They are concerned she might have an infection because her white blood cell count is low, so they have her on antibiotics, but other than that my Aunt said that she has made a really great turn around and looks much better today...
My mom and sisters came back up and we got to hold the little angel for a while :) Oldest is also doing really well. She is really swollen from the oxytocin they have her on (which helps her produce milk) so she looks pretty chunky haha, but other than that everything is going well. THANK HEAVEN. Well I am exhausted and going to take a nap... I know Heavenly Father was watching over this little girl because the entire supply could've easily been cut off and she wouldn't have made it.. so I guess the moral of the story is that giggling during prayers saves lives ;)

Spring Semester--- Check!

This is what I did the second I got in my car tonight!... haha I love What About Bob...

My spring semester is over! yeah! I have a killer head cold, so to be honest I don't even remember what I wrote in my essay because I was SOOO out of it, but I'm just glad to be done and am praying for a C! haha

In other news:

I saw Super 8 the other night. It was CRAZY. I liked it. The fat kid swears excessively I do have to warn you. It was so intense though.. I went with Samson and he had a good point.. "if I was in their situation I would be swearing too!" It took my 2 hours to calm down after watching it because at every creek or noise I thought for sure something was going to jump out at me. It isn't a scary movie with a monster or murderer that is killing everyone... it's more the suspense of I have no clue what is going to happen next ... anyway loved it.

One of the previews was for the next Twilight movie and yes they are separating the last movie into 2 parts... because they wanted to drag out the agony I guess. Twilight wants to be Harry Potter so bad it's embarrassing. But yes I do have my HP7.2 tickets already :) I can't wait.

oh boy

those of you that are fb friends with me knew this post was coming....

I know I shouldn't feel obligated to divulge all my crazy life experiences and such on my blog, but when I remember this doubles as part of my journal... I cave and post.

Ray is the best. He has (without fully knowing it) opened my eyes to MANY of my flaws... in a good way. He made me realize my potential and has helped to give me so many tools to reach it. I felt a uneasy after our first date. Not that he was a bad person or that something was fishy, but that it wasn't something that was going to last (I guess that's how I would explain it...) I told Ray about it (a week after our first date haha) and we had an AMAZING heart to heart where we kind of discussed our past experiences with these feelings, etc. I wanted more than anything to date him and after BRAZIL.... then KJO.... I thought 'this really can't be happening again! I must be crazy'.

From that point on I did what my friend/mentor Natalie refers to as 'tip-toed around the Lord'. aka I prayed to see if Ray and I dating was ok, but I had NO real intent. Russell M. Nelson said " 'Real intent' means that one really intends to follow the divine direction given." In other words I asked the question but didn't have the guts or the faith to actually stop if that's what the answer was. {Note to reader: if you do not have real intent the Lord won't waste his time giving you the wanted or unwanted answer.}

Finally I stopped tip-toeing because my efforts to block out the spirit from telling me not to date Ray, I also blocked the spirit from being with me in many other aspects. I loved my trip back east with him. We had a blast, but I wish that I would've been more prepared and in tune because my experiences would've been a million times more amazing if I would've... but then again if I would've listened in the first place I never would've gone at all. Double edged sword.

I knew what my answer was. I kinda just word vomited all over Ray one night. I didn't really have a chronological/well thought out explanation, so I just talked and sobbed for a good 20-30 mins.... and what did Ray do? "Kaylen, go home this weekend, spend time with your family, clear your mind, and then when you come back we will see how we both feel." calm, composed, concerned, perfect. He handles me better than anyone EVER! I think it's because he's old and has experience and just is the best. He knew the worst case scenario and that clearing my mind wasn't going to magically change everything, but he wanted both of us to gain composure and seek insight first before doing anything drastic.

I came back from the weekend and knew that it was over. We went to the park, put up his hammock between two trees and just chatted. He told me that he had thought and prayed a lot and that, even though it wasn't what he wanted, he felt at peace about us not being together anymore. Peace rarely equals Breakup... unless its the right thing to do. He didn't fight for his life.. he didn't tear me up inside... he patiently accepted what we both knew was right. I told him it was all my fault for not listening initially, but he said "Kaylen..I don't regret it ONE BIT! and I would do it all again because we have had so much fun together." .... how/why am I giving him up? Only heaven knows. Truly.

We decided we would call it mutual. I brought it up to Ray and he agreed. No one broke up with anyone. No one is at fault over the other. Peace.

Well that's not to say that it hasn't been a total bummer. I had briefly spoken to my bishop about it and the next Sunday he pulled me out in the hall to ask if Ray and I were together anymore.. I told him no. I expected him to say that he was really sorry and bummed (because he knows and really likes Ray) but instead he said 'Ok that's what I figured because there is this boy in the ward that keeps asking about you.. and he is a great guy and..... blah blah blah blah blah.' I was totally taken back. REALLY BISHOP!? do you think I'm ready to just move on? wrongo. After sacrament meeting I went outside, called Ray, and just cried to him.

I need to morn about this... at least for a little while.

Now after reading this you might think "Kaylen today is Friday.. you just took it off fb yesterday.. how long has it been if you talked after the weekend?" Well you see neither of us could bring ourselves to take it off. We had our talk on the 31st of May. It took us 10 days to finally give up and call it quits for real.

glimmer of hope: With KJo and Brazil I knew it was really over. I talked myself into thinking it might be timing, but I knew it wasn't. With Ray I can see it going either way... Ray feels the same.

In fact last night we went on our last date. We went to Terra Mia for dinner, watched Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D (ps there were only 3 other people in the theater with us.. and they came late.. haha so it was fun to laugh as loud as we wanted and chat through the movie :) then went back to his apartment and ceremoniously changed our facebook statuses to single {we're lame I know, but it was easier to laugh while doing it together instead of crying myself to sleep at home doing it myself} . {p.s. isn't it ridiculous how crucial the fb status is to our generation..haha anyway} He took me home and before he left he said with hope in his voice "To be continued...."

to be continued.....?

Road Trip in FastForward

The trip was composed of 5 people:

Me

Ray

Jr.

"Fissa"

Jared

Before we left we said a quick prayer that the Lord would prepare a way for us to accomplish all of the things we wanted to and to be safe... This post will help you see how that happened!

We started driving at 10:30pm Saturday Night and drove till we went to church at 1 the next day in Colby, Kansas! There was a slight mix up and we missed sacrament meeting, but the branch president let us have our own little meeting :) it was a neat experience.. [tender mercy 1]

We drove through Kansas and ended up that night in Kansas City, Missouri where our friend Jared was visiting some family. Now that first night we honestly didn't know where we were going to stay. We had a tent packed just in case something happened, but as we were visiting Jared his uncle asked us where we were staying.. We told him we did know, and then He offered his home to us. [tender mercy 2] He and his family are not members of the church, so when we told them why we were on the trip they were kind of like "oh sounds fun", but they fed us phenomenally and the beds were extremely comfortable. And after having been in a car for 24 hours straight we needed the rest.

Our next stop was Adam Ondi Ahman.

jr kaylen ray fissa jared

Basically the name means "the place where Adam dwelt" This is also where many future events will take place during the second coming...

Ray collected "sacred" dirt at every place we went.. weirdo. haha

NAUVOO.

If you remember me going to Nauvoo last year you will know this is one of my most favorite places on earth. Truly.

Because everyone else is endowed... I went to the baptistry while they did a session in the temple. I got to the baptistry desk and I was the only one there. The matron (female temple worker) greeted me and told me I was the only one they'd had all day and had been so excited for me to come. It was quite the experience. I felt very strongly that God loved ME. Individually. He knew Me. It was fantastic.

A member of the temple presidency, Pres. Smith, was there with his wife to speak to me and while we talked he asked me where we were staying. I told him that Fissa had a mission companion in Iowa City (two hours away) that was expecting us tonight and then we would be back early in the morning to see Carthage. He told me that was not going to work. haha He said that he and his wife had rented a little house for the summer for family to stay in when they came to visit and they wanted us to stay there tonight so that we wouldn't have to drive so much. [tender mercy 3] After I was finished doing the ordinances we started chatting and Pres and Sister Smith looked at each other and said don't we have like 100 Return Missionaries we could set her up with?? and I said Well I'm dating one of the boys that I'm here with.. Pres Smith said he would need to have a chat with him ;) They were the sweetest couple! I just felt like I had known them for years. Pres Smith went upstairs to the dressing room and asked which one of them was Ray... Ray raised his hand and Pres Smith walked up to him and shook his hand. In his hand he slipped Ray a $100 bill and said "Take her to dinner, and bring them along with you!" [tender mercy 4] That money paid for all of us to eat dinner and breakfast the next morning. AMAZING.

It was the cutest little house. It had like 8 beds, so everyone got their own and Ray didn't have to listen to Junior snore all night :) This was the view outside the window...

Then my absolute favorite part of Nauvoo...

The sunset on the Mississippi. Spectacular. Everyone else was taking pics and chatting so Ray and I walked a little ways down the hill and just enjoyed it :) then if you look on the pic above you'll see the little red bench on the front porch.. Ray and I sat there till it was dark. It was kinda romantic :)

Then we all went on a walk and this is the frog Ray killed.

haha jk but it was dead on the road. Sad.

The next day we got up early and the Smith's had told us to sign their guest book.. so we pulled it out and it was FULL of stories like "we were stranded when the tornado we through st. louis... thank you for opening your little home to us" or "thank you for helping a stranded family with a broken down car. for paying to get it fixed and also giving us a place to stay till it was done" This little book was FULL of stories like that. Ours was a message that said "thanks for giving some poor college kids money and a place to stay while we are on this trip building our testimonies." It was then that I decided that I wanted to be just like them. Have enough money to be comfortable, but then be able to just help people like crazy. It was AWESOME!

Carthage was next. Here I shared the story of my ancestor that was in Nauvoo at the time of Joseph and Hyrum's death.

Then Kirtland.....

Then Niagara Falls...

Then I went in the boys bathroom and didn't realize it till I was washing my hands and saw the urinals... oops. Ray was OBVIOUSLY waiting outside with his camera on hand. dirtbag ;)

Then Upstate New York!

We ate at this TERRIBLE place called the Garbage plate.. Fissa said all the greenie's in her mission were taken there (she served her mission in Rochester/Sacred Grove site Mission).

it was disgusting.

Lilacs are my favorite :)

Me and Ray

When we went to the Peter Whitmer farm I was changing my shoes and ....

I may or may not have left the keys in the back seat.. you can see the little back remote to the right of the brown bag.. crap.

this is us waiting for the lock smith. You can see Ray's uncle next to me... He lives with his family in Pennsylvania, so he came up with his wife and daughter to hang out with us! It was a blast and NO LIE he paid the lock smith for getting the keys out before I even had a chance to get my wallet out of the car. THEN he "went to the bathroom" during dinner but really he was paying for the ENTIRE ticket.. and junior ordered 2 dozen bbq wings! [tender mercy 5&6]

Then finally the Sacred Grove.

This was our friend and tour guide Bob. He is the caretaker of the Grove and Hill Cumorah... so it was a special experience to say the least...

(collage that Ray put together)

In New York we stayed with some amazing members and also the mission president. We never had to stay in a hotel. We only paid for our food when we were on the road. [tender mercies 7, 8, & 9]

Our last stop was the Susquehanna River. We were there May 15th. The day the Priesthood was restored. It rained ALL day except for the ten minutes we were there. The sun came out and it was beautiful [tender mercy 10]

Then it was a straight shot from there home. 34 hours later. holy smokes.

It was amazing. I KNOW the Lord will prepare a way in all we do as long as we will let Him be a part of our lives. Let Him be a part of our trips. Let Him consume our thoughts. etc. AND as long as we are doing our best to be worthy of that help, to try to be like His Son, we will never be left wanting.

:) amen.