.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.