Kjersti's Visit

A couple of weeks ago we had a long weekend. I chose to stay at school and have a nice relaxing weekend. It was indeed nice and relaxing. My cousin Kjersti came up from southern Utah. It was fun to spend some time with her. We went to the hotsprings, comic frenzy, and finished the day at Sammy's with one of there famous pie shakes.

Heise Hot Springs

Anatomy and Physiology

My Anatomy and Physiology professor teaching us about the heart (notice the human heart in his hand) while he was listening to the BYU game. In his defense he has never done this before, and it was actually a really effective lesson.

Long Weekend

I had a great long weekend in Utah and I don't have very many pictures to show for it. It started with a big birthday fiesta for my friends Will and Shareese.

Saturday morning we went to a Women's Conference where Sherri Dew spoke. So I got to meet her. Here is Shareese, Brittany, Sherri Dew, Me, and Jamela.

On Sunday I enjoyed my cousin Adam's mission farewell. He's really excited to serve in Kobe, Japan.

My cousin Tyson was in town from California for a skiing trip. He broke his collar bone on his last run, and he was in lost of pain all of Saturday night. My cousin Nathan broke his arm skiing on the same hill just a few days earlier. The ski patrol remembered him too. Hopefully ski patrol won't be on a first name basis with our family by the end of the skiing season.

Tyson, Grandpa, and Nathan. Grandpa made sure we documented the occasion.

New Blog

In an effort to create more accountability for new years resolutions and becoming a better person in general we (Me, David, and a few of our friends) put together a blog where we can write about our progress, and the lessons we are learning. Go to http://bringingthespirit.blogspot.com/ if you are interested in checking it out.

Megan's San Diego Wedding

Megan and I have been best friends since we were 4 years old. She got married on December 28 in the San Diego LDS Temple. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, plus it was a great opportunity for a road trip! Aleena, Me, and Paige on the way to California.
It was SO NICE to get away from the snow, even it was only for 2 days. The beautiful beach in La Jolla.
San Diego Temple
Paige, Aleena, and Me waiting for the newly weds.
Mr. and Mrs. Burt

Megan and I. She was a beautiful bride.

Christmas

I was surrounded by people I love for the Christmas holiday! It all started the weekend before Christmas. I got to spend time with some friends in Utah.
Aaron and Haley made the long drive out from Georgia for the holidays along with their kids and Mom.
All of my brother playing with the kiddos.
David and Jonathan.
William, Jonathan, and Me.
We went tubing at Solider Hollow. It was a slushy day, but we still had lots of fun.

We spent Christmas Eve at the Engebretsens with a bunch of family from Mom's side. It was great to spend time with everyone. As far as my immediate family goes it was Me, Mom, all the boys and their families.
We got to have Christmas dinner with our very own Hermana Hale. What a blessing!!! It was so great to see Kathy. She is doing so well.
The three little kids :)
+ Mom

Fall 2010

The semester is over and I am currently loving every minute of my Christmas break!! I love being surrounded by loved ones!! I was quite the blogging slacker this semester so I'll give you an overview. The semester started out perfectly!! I was on top of all my school work, loving my new ward, going on fun adventures, and simply enjoying everything. All of that came to a halt when I got mono. Before I always thought, so you're tired for a few weeks, no big deal...WRONG!!!! Suddenly, the ONLY thing I could do was sleep. Some of you might think that sounds wonderful, but if you know me very well you know that I like to get things done. I hate sleeping excessively, I sleep enough to get the energy I need. I was not a happy camper when I would sleep an average of 20 hours a day and still wake up exhausted. I was informed that most people drop the semester when they get mono, and I had just changed my major making that near impossible to do. I missed atleast 3 weeks of school, and when I started going back to class it was all I could do to keep up with then new material we were covering. I have never felt so frustrated, inadequate, helpless, or overwhelmed. Just when I would start to get better I would get hit with another wave of exhaustion. That is still going on. It was especially frustrating during finals.
Lets look at the positive. The first thing my Mom said after I told her I have mono was "You are going to learn some valuable lessons this semester." I had no idea how true that statement would prove to be. I learned so many things that I wouldn't have learned any other way. I could write a long list of things, but it all boils a few things. It is possible to accomplish things that you CANNOT do on your own when you rely on the Lord. Count your many blessings, including your trials, they can be the best blessings of all if you will allow yourself to learn from them. It was nothing short of a miracle that I was able to finish the semester with a B average. It was not easy but it was worth all of the hard work and frustration. This time next year I will be finishing my last semester on campus, and getting ready to start my student teaching :). That's it in a nutshell. Merry Christmas!!