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!

I'll Never 'Fredette' About It

...Ya I'm the one in the white--

BYU Basketball has been a BLAST this season. Honestly, watching Jimmer play is unreal! Jimmer-mania has been contagious.

The whole Brandon Davies situation was a rough point in the season for sure, but I admire Davies for turning himself in, and am proud of BYU for standing by their morals. As I've heard people around the community and on campus talk about it, a lot of them say that Davies should've just waited to confess AFTER the bball season was over, but I have major respect for Davies doing what needed to be done regardless of the circumstances.

Many people perceive Mormons (and especially BYU Mormons) as being unaccepting of people that have made mistakes or that aren't "perfect", but Davies sat on the bench at tonight's game in a white shirt and tie with the team. I hope that it sent the message to the world that the Church is ALL about forgiveness. If anyone had the right to be mad and bitter, it's his teammates that he left HIGH and DRY at the most crucial part of their season! But instead of shunning him, they stand by him and continue to help and support him when he probably needs it most. Good job team!

Now I will confess my secret. Sure Jimmer is THE star, but personally I like to watch Jackson Emery---

isn't he adorable?? I know he's married, but I still have a little school-girl crush on him :)

Kyle Collinsworth (far left) is also pretty cute, BUT he's a freshman and going on a mission soon...

So basically my chances of dating a bball player are slim to none... Unless Jimmer dumps his beautiful head cheerleader girlfriend for me!.... no likely ;)

.the end

Completion

After a grueling 2.5 hour written examine which included:

13 2-5 sentence short answer (about anything from colonial America to Reconstruction in 1877)

1 8-10 paragraph essay (topic: did the north win the civil war or did the south lose, defend your answer)

1 10-12 paragraph essay (topic: History is often written from the winners prospective, write about specific historical events from 18th & 19th century taking the prospective of African American slaves or Native Americans)

I AM FINISHED!

SIDE NOTE: my professor didn't even give us a review.. directly quoted conversation

Student: Do we get a review for the final?

Richards: No.. you just need to know everything.. [seeing the panicked looks on all our faces]..Ya'll (she's a "southern bell" aka not scared to speak her mind) need to learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's part of the college experience" AKA sift through your 15 pages of notes and figure out what we think she thinks is important info... SHEEZ!

Needless to say I might have carpal tunnell, but the good news is I LIVED! I honestly... wait.. I was about to say that I honestly don't know how I survived this semester but I know EXACTLY how I survived: practically ZERO social life, library after work from 8-midnight multiple times a week, sneaking Pepsi into the library to keep me awake, getting 6 hours of sleep a night, never working out and studying between clients at the bank. That is how I made it-- well actually I dunno if I made it because grades aren't posted and they could be rough, but I'm being optimistic :)

BYU is hands down the hardest thing I've ever done (intellectually that is). Everyone there is just so frickin smart! oh man well that's my story! Now I can focus on getting Christmas presents and catching up on my sleep.

Loves!

Coolest Kids I Know-

(Cruela Devil & Purple Fairy :)

I claim them any day

In other news: I am not a huge fan of Halloween. Why? Because I am a cheap wad and hate spending money on costumes.. Hence the reason I've been wearing this baby every year since I bought it at a thrift store when I was in 10th grade for like $3 ha--

But the sad news is that I have NO idea where it is. Probably storage :( I have no clue what I'm gonna be. Maybe a bank teller! ha

Update: Midterms are over. They were almost the death of me! SO much expected of you, SO much material to review, ZERO sleep. BUT I SURVIVED! and I'm almost positive that I passed all of them-- but we'll see.

This weekend I will play. I have studied FAR too much lately and eventho it's Halloween and I don't really love it, I'm gonna dress up and par-tay! NO HOMEWORK! (till monday).

Happy Weekend / Halloween.

New Companion, GC goals, Weekend, +Milestones

New Companion:

This is my newest bestest companion:

I LOVE my backpack :)

Do you think it can carry all this crap?

Oh ya-- it can.

Does it weigh 20 pounds?

YEP

and do I carry it around with me across campus?

... all day long.

Pretty much this thing saves my life and has replaced my purse because I'm so busy with homework 90% of the time that I take it with me everywhere in case I have a spare moment to read or finish an assignment.

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GENERAL CONFERENCE!

General Conference is honestly THE best. I think that I should just plan on having trauma in my life around the general time frame of conference because that's how it feels like it's been for me-- But I'm SUPER grateful that my trials come around then so that I can get those answers that I need--

(met Kla Bo and Heather there :)

So here are my post-conference goals:

I WILL CONSECRATE MY LIFE (Elder D. Todd Christofferson) BY:

1. Centering my life on the Cornerstone of the Savior (Elder Jay E. Jensen)
2. Utilizing daily personal scripture study (Elder David McConkie)
3. BEING GRATEFUL (President Thomas S. Monson)
4. Finding satisfaction in simplicity (President Dieter F. Utchdorf/Leonardo DiVinci)
5. Trust in God & he'll Trust me (President Henry B. Eyring)
6. Find SOMEONE to serve (Elder Richard G. Scott)
7. Become what I want to be by being what I want to become (Elder Richard G. Scott)

After conference we went up to my Grandma's in Idaho to hang out with my family :D I LOVE MY FAMILY!

(my TWO beautiful sisters :)

the two youngest were having a photo shoot at the feed yard!--

SOOOO Lakyn and I joined in

(I don't think that cowgirls wear coral cardigans, but oh well ;)

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GUESS WHAT???????

SportySpice is PREGNANT

OMGosh she called me the other day and informed me I was going to be an aunt :D. I am SO excited for her and SO two steps behind her now ha.

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BYU is TERRIBLE this year in football, but I paid an extra 30 or 40 bones to go to all their games... So we support no matter the score!

I love my cougs no matter what

:)

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Milestones:

Just in case you didn't remember I thought I'd remind you

-

Brazil came home a little over ONE year ago.. which also means I broke up with Brazil ONE year ago

&

I was supposed to be MARRIED to KJo a week and a half ago...

WHY DID ALL OF THESE EVENTS HAVE TO HAPPEN WITHIN A WEEK OF EACH OTHER?

...bad planning on my part I guess.

How am I doing?

--ask me when it actually sinks in

until then I'll be in my bedroom doing homework.

Blogging was on my "to-do list" today

Well like always I get behind so here goes the sweet and condensed version :)

I LOVE MY ROOMMATES

-they are beautiful people

Kelsey is a true born Texan and it comes out every now and again ha ha Remember Stevo?? ya Kelsey is dating him ... oh how the world turns... but he is such a fun guy and I'm just glad she's attached at the hip to someone I can stand! But Kelsey is amazing and we have one of those relationships where I feel like I've known her for forever.

Lakyn is one of my BFF's through and through. She has and will continue to be such a blessing in my life! I just can't believe we actually get to live together! ha it's a blast! I'm so glad that she is here with me right now... :) I love my Lakyn. She ALWAYS helps me when I do stupid stuff like forget to grab cream cheese at Walmart or helps me start dinner when I get home from work late, plus a million other things. She is the best.

So I moved to Provo.. our apartment was disgusting. Kelsey and I spent some serious bonding time scrubbing the black toilets... enough said.

Kelsey (since she's from TEXAS) had never seen the Manti temple.. so we took a HUGE detour one Sunday so that I could help fulfill one of her dreams to see that temple

For Labor Day Lakyn came with my family and me to Arches!

Remember how I stalk apostles??

I did it again

Yes ladies and gentlemen.. that is Elder Scott on the left. yes that picture was nonchalantly taken by me on my phone...

STORY: Samson is a pretty big deal at UVU and the school was celebrating becoming an all Steinway school. aka they had permission to use their $60 to $100 thousand dollar pianos (crazy!) so they had a big celebration because its a big deal! The 5 Browns were there, which is pretty AWESOME. Plus Elder Holland and Elder Scott were there too. ANYWAY back to the story- So because Samson is legit we were VIP, which meant we got to go to the after party. We sat down to eat and we sat at the table with the Losee's (HUGE JEWELERS IN UTAH) and Mama Losee had on a diamond the size of a dime! it was unreal! So who else comes to talk to them? Elder Scott! After they have their little discussion (picture above) Elder Scott turns to leave and (of course) there I am beaming at him ha ha so we reach out our hands to shake:

"Elder Scott, How are you today?"

(shaking hands, then stops, holds my hand in both of his and looks me in the eyes)

"Better now that I've seen your beautiful smiling face!"

(exit special witness of Christ)

Holy CRAP-OLY! did that really just happen?? oh ya it did!

Needless to say I was pretty much on cloud nine--

Then that weekend was Regional Stake Conference and I was able to see Elder Holland, Sister Beck, and Elder Packer speak at the Marriott Center. Then that night at the CES (church education system) fireside I saw Elder Scott speak.

1 Weekend + 3 apostles and 1 prophetess

= the best

(ps is Sister Beck a prophetess? Do we have those anymore? Was Deborah the only one? if there ever was one in our day tho it's Sister Beck! She is one of my heros. besides my own mom of course :)

I have had some serious homework to do since starting school :S its been a little rough, but Tuesday night I went with my family to The Lion King at the Capitol Theater in SLC.. WOW what an amazing production!!

You cant really see the girls sitting next to my dad, but they were prostitutes.. no really. Their dresses looked like they were spray painted on, and they were obnoxious like I picture prostitutes would be. Ha Ha

Sad story: I bought a ticket for KJo 4 months ago... :( the ticket was $95 bucks so I told friends about it and luckily Sam bought it!

We were trying to jump like the gazelles on the window-- if you couldn't tell.

Samson and I have had some GREAT heart to hearts lately. We can just communicate/vent really well to each other. Samson is ALSO a great BFF through and through.

Sad Story again: Wednesday Kelsey found out her dad was killed in a kayaking accident. Not joking. I felt awful for her and just cried at the thought of losing my own dad... perspective changes things. She has been in Texas all week, and if I wasn't already writing a novel today I would tell you some of the tender mercies from the Lord that we've seen. MIRACLES! God prepares us for hard things...

Lakyn and I miss her :(

On a happier note, I started playing Intramural SOCCER! OMGosh I about killed over after running the field, but I am stoked! I'm playing with Tess (old soccer buddy from high school).. its gonna be fun!

I got a million peaches- I got a million peaches- I got a million peaches.. today hey hey!

Many people have taken pitty on me and given me peaches :D but I had a bajillion too many so Lakyn and I made pie!

we are SO domestic ;)

Quick timeline:

Tuesday: start of sore throat

Wednesday: really scratchy throat

Thursday: played soccer (aka yelled a lot)

Friday: the bank was NUTS-- so I talked all day long

Saturday night: dance party at Utah Lake

(aka more yelling and lots of dust)

Sunday= NO VOICE

conclusion: after the runny nose, cough, and other symptoms definite possibility of laryngitis..

-

-

no biggy

so today I didn't go to class or work in order to hopefully heal my voice and it worked!

but back to Saturday night-- we went with a huge random group of people to a dance party and there was a VERY broad range of people there. It turned out to be pretty fun.

Some dude took this picture there and then today a random friend had tagged me in it ha weird--

(don't let me forget to tell you about the palm reader from the dance party or my other sad story from this weekend)

and last but not least mine and Lakyn's new BFF

Meet Jeff! He's pretty much the coolest guy in our ward and he comes over to our house like everyday.

He keeps us VERY entertained! The three of us went and played catch today. I think I'm going to be sore..

Well I should've and could've posted like a million times in the last couple weeks as you can see, but I honestly didn't have time. BYU is not like CollegeTown.. it's actually hard here lol! So I really DON'T have time to sit and vent, but I will make time :)

peace from Provo-

Saturday Night Lights

...is there anything better?

Today marked my FIRST BYU football game as a student and it was a blast! My dad and Youngest got some tickets so they came too, which was SO much fun.. I love watching football with my dad and it was also fun explaining the basics of the game to Youngest

There is nothing better than spending a Saturday night.. with my family... under the lights... with a little bit of

:)

confident.

Today has been a GREAT day so far. The last month has been a roller coaster of decisions and really just been hard for me-- mostly because I knew what I shouldn't do (which is great) but I didn't know what I SHOULD do. So here I am. new apartment. new job. new roommates. new school. new life. But all these decisions were ones that I made without confirmation of them being THE right thing to do.. it was more like well this is the only decently priced place I've looked at so I guess I'll live here. Or I'm accepted to BYU so I guess I'll figure out a major and register for classes (2 weeks ago).

Here I am.

Last night I was going to be watching a movie with some friends that hadn't seen Emma Smith: My Story yet (PS if you haven't seen that movie go see it. Active or In-active. Member or Non-Member... It's worth it. You'll feel better inside after. Promise) Sooo anyway those plans fell through, so it dawned on me that I hadn't had a father's blessing yet for this school year.. and if ever I needed one before a school year it is now. So I grabbed my keys and drove to RootTown.

My dad gave me the blessing and it was perfect. It told me that above everything else, I was supposed to be right where I am. God knows me and my trials. He loves me.

Today I walked onto campus and I was jubilant. I wasnt sure how parking was going to roll, so I left 45 mins early just incase and was 25 minutes early to my class lol, but I didn't care! I sat on a bench outside my building and just STARED at people! ha ha they maybe thought I was a crazy, but honestly I KNEW this is where I am supposed to be. The people that know me know that I'm not a huge byu fan.. I honestly could care less, but today I wanted to go to the bookstore and deck myself out from head to toe in byu gear. I wanted to talk to everyone I saw. After my class (history class) I walked clear to the Wilk eventho I parked South of campus just because I didn't want to leave. I think I might park on the north from now on just so that I can walk all of campus everyday.

Well that's my story. I know it's been a minute since I updated this thing, so I'll be back soon with roommate and apartment pics..

Loves from Cougar Country ;)

(side note: NO I am not becoming a zoobie. Yes I will still cheer for Utah, unless they're playing BYU. No I did not deck out in cougar gear. Yes I love where I'm getting my education :)