Ooooey Gooooey

You guys. Seriously. Being in love with your best friend is the greatest thing ever. I have promised myself that I won't be one of those people that posts about it daily on facebook or blog about it every two seconds, but I just can't hold it in right now. I am madly in love with Brock and I love being with him. His moving to Idaho gets closer and closer so I am attached at his hip whenever I can be. And guess what? It is sooooooo fun!! We laugh, we talk, we play, we cuddle, we work, everything. I have so much fun when I am with him and just when I think I couldn't possibly love him anymore, he out-does himself and my heart just melts.

There, I'm done being an ooooooey goooooey love stuck girl now.

Piano!

The other day I got on ksl.com to post my apartment for rent. I figured while I was on the classifieds page that I would check the free listings just for kicks and giggles. All the good things are always taken so I never bother looking, but this time, that was not the case.
I pulled up the page and the last posting was literally a minute before. And it was for a free piano!!!!!!!
I couldn't believe it. I called the lady right away to make sure it was for reals. She said it was, that they just don't ever use it.  So I called brock to make sure it was ok with him. He said no. I didn't care. I talked him into it with the help of my boss. We gathered some strong friends and went and picked it up that night! So, now I have a piano to takes to idaho with me and I couldn't be any happier about it. I have played piano since the 3rd grade and it has always been a great blessing in my life and now it can continue to be just that!

Thanksgiving: Part 6

Day 6:

Education

I am grateful that I was able to go to school my whole life. I was one of those silly kids that loved going back to school all the time.
I am especially grateful that I was able to attend Brigham Young University. I didn't always love everything about being there, but I got a great education that I'll always use and be thankful for.

Thanksgiving: Part 5

Day 5:

Brock

This guy is so great and honestly tries his absolute best to make me happy ALL the time. He serves everybody he can anytime he can. He has one of the most contagious laughs you've ever heard.
I love love love him so much and couldn't be more grateful for him!

Thanksgiving: Part 4

Day 4

Friends:

I have the GREATEST friends in the whole wide world!!! I learn so much from them and love and appreciate all they do for me. So many of them have been my great friends for years and years and I pray that that will always stay the same. I am kind of shy when I first meet people, but these are people that I have gotten along with since day one and I couldn't be more thankful for them, even if they are no longer a part of my everyday life, they are people I will always be grateful for and will always consider a great friend.

I don't want to list names because I'm scared I would forget someone, but let's be honest, you all know who you are. There are some that were roommates, (I have had nearly twenty roommates but only a handful of them made the list.) friends I made in high school, friends I made in the 7th grade, **cough cough...Shay**, the ones I grew up with since day 28, the ones I met at work, the ones from my ward, the ones from Oakcrest.

I am so thankful for them all!!!

Thanksgiving: Part 3

Day 3:

My Family - both immediate and extended

I love love love love LOVE my family. So much!!!! They are my best friends and the people that I can always turn to for advice and they are so much fun! They are all strong in the gospel setting a great example for me and everybody around them, but they are also so humble. I am so grateful for all my siblings, parents, cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, oh ya, and nieces and nephews, my favorite people in the whoooooooole world!!

This is the Olpin side of the fam, part of them

You've all seen lots of pictures of my fam so I refrained from

posting anymore.

Thanksgiving: Part 2

Day 2:

My Heavenly Father.

I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father. There is nothing more important to me than knowing that I have a Father in Heaven that knows me perfectly and loves me no matter what. He has given me so much in my life and for which I am also grateful.

I owe everything I have in my life to Him and I know that He loves me more than anybody else and that He also loves all of His children just as much.

Thanksgiving: Part 1

Lots of people have been posting on facebook every day this month about things they are thankful for. I think it's a great idea, but I like details, so throughout this week, I am going to list 7 things that I am most grateful for. (Ok, it's really going to be 8 because it's a tie between two of them.) They aren't necessarily in any specific order, but I'm sure it will be easy to tell that these are all the things that keep my world turning.

Day 1:

My Savior Jesus Christ.

Read the following like a poem, not like the song.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me He was crucified,

That for me a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

I marvel that He would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine.

That He should extend His great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

(See LDS Hymns #193)

The words of this song say it perfectly. I stand all amazed that my Savior would suffer, bleed, and die for me, and for every man and woman that walks this earth. To know that I can be forgiven is a blessing that I've yet to find words to describe. I am also grateful to Him for suffering through the pains of this world so that when I feel pain, whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual, etc., I know that He has felt it too and will be by my side as I bear through it.

I have faith that there will be a day when I will see Him again and feel the nail prints in His hands and feet and tell him "thank you" in person. As for now, all I can do is pray to be worthy of such an experience and show my gratitude through the way I act and treat others.

Picture by Simon Dewey

Rocking It

We have been engaged two and a half weeks and this is the progress update for the wedding plans.

Booked the Draper temple for 10am on April 7th
Booked the reception center
Bought my wedding dress
Picked the photographer and arranged possible videography options
Registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond
Arranged housing for when we move to Idaho
Got his ring and my band
Planned who is taking our engagements and where

And a lot of other little details that I don't want to take the time to think of and write down. :)

I feel like we are off too a pretty good start! We are trying to get as much done as possible before Brock moves to idaho so that when we visit each other we don't have to work on wedding stuff, but we are having fun with it so far!

Disclaimer

I just went on to my blog while at work to edit a word I noticed I had spelled wrong and it reformatted my last post. Please don't panic, I'll fix it just as soon as I get home tonight. Thank you for putting up with how annoyingly uneven it looks right now. :D

Engaged!!

Ok kids, here's the deal, Brock proposed! Bet ya didn't see that coming. ;) I sure didn't. Well...kinda. Here's the story.

I was banking on it happening on Friday night. So there it was, our Thursday date night. He picked me up from work and we decided to go to dinner. He said he was hungry and wanted to "grub" and that he was willing to splurge so we should go to Carrabba's. I agreed. I thought to myself "that's kind of a fancy place, maybe he'll propose tonight. Nooooo...he's proposing tomorrow night!!"

So we enjoyed dinner, the food and service was AWESOME!! They brought the check, Brock paid, we were ready to leave and he said "I kinda want dessert, do you want dessert?" I said no and that I was stuffed and in no way ready for more food. He responded by saying that he was full (he hadn't finished his dinner) but that he just really wanted sugar. We decided we'd drive somewhere and grab something. So he goes to the bathroom (which was to call his sister Kate to inform her that we were leaving the restaurant which of course I didn't know) and I went out to the car to start warming it up.

He decides that he wants to go to The Chocolate. I agree because I love that place and inform him we can go but that I probably won't eat more than two bites because I was so full already. We drive to The Chocolate and I honestly couldn't even think about going inside and looking at all those sweets so I just put my head on his shoulder and we talked and laughed for about ten minutes. (I was still completely oblivious to the fact that he was waiting to go inside to propose.) He finally convinced me to go inside. We got inside and he told me to order and that he didn't want anything. Uh...wasn't he the one that wanted sugar? ;) So we finally ordered and walked upstairs.

I started walking in to a room and Brock said from behind that we shouldn't sit in that room but that we should we go into the room that we usually sit in. I said ok and turned around to walk in to the room. As I walked in there was an IPOD playing on an IPOD doc, a huge floral arrangement on the table, dessert on the table, rose petals on the table and floor and a ring sitting on the table. My first thought was that sombody was proposing and that we needed to get out quick so I turned to Brock and said "Brock, somebody is about to pro...." I made it that far in to the sentance before I noticed that he was crying at which point, I think everything inside of me did a flip and my heart was racing at about 200 bpm.

He walked over, grabbed the ring, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes. He asked if I wanted the ring on and I of course said yes! Then we just laughed at how surprised I was and cried because we were so happy for about ten minutes.

His sister Kate was in the next room (she had helped set everything up) so we walked in to grab her so she could come take pictures.

We are getting married April 7, 2012 in the Draper Utah Temple.

The Bling

Pictures like this have to happen at a proposal

He still loves me even when I do things like this

Also, note the cute table

Sitting on the couch right after he popped the question

This is what I saw when I walked in

Welcome to the 21st Century

I consider myself to be a fairly tech savvy individual. Not like a total computer nerd, but I know how to make electronics work for me and do what I want. So some people were a little surprised anytime they saw my little tiny mini nokia phone. Not the old school brick kind, just the little kind.

Well, as stated in recent posts, there was no cell service in my new place. My parents were already talking about switching to Verizon from T-mobile. It took me a month and a half of trying to get the problems fixed and then just straight up trying to convince them to pay the fee to get out of the last part of the contract, but alas, it happened.

On Friday October 21, 2011 I joined the smart phone world. It was not my plan for the new phone, I was going to go with just another basic simple one. But, google got the best of me as it usually does and I bought a droid. Droid Charge to be exact, and I love it. It is still smarter than me, but I am trying to catch up.

The end.

A Month? Really?

Holy smokes, it has really been a month since I put anything up here pretty much. Crazy!! I have just been working full time at the standard RC Willey. One of my best friends just had her last day because she is leaving for her mission to Texas, so good luck Ali! And then Lindsay, another great friend from work put in her two weeks and I am so excited for, sad to see her go but it will be a good change!

Aside from working, I spend almost every possible moment with Brock. It is weird how we spend so much time together and honestly never get sick of each other. If anything, we can't get enough time together. Well, I can't get enough of him, maybe he gets sick of me. ;) Totally kidding, I'm positive he doesn't.

Vicki had her baby, Emma. I will add a picture to this post shortly hopefully, as for right now, I just need to get a post up. Emma was 7 lbs 6 oz and 18 inches. Our smallest kiddo yet and she is so precious. Addie struggled with the adjustment some but is getting there. They moved back to St. George this last weekend and I already miss Addie like crazy.

Davy got ordained a Deacon this last Sunday, so exciting! I can't believe how fast he is growing up, it seemed like just yesterday that he was Emma's size and I was so excited to be an aunt for the first time. I am so proud of him though and of his great example and willingness to serve.

Travis is doing well, I have had a few e-mails from him in the past couple of weeks which means the world to me. I sent him a sweet package over the summer that he never received which is a bummer, but he is doing well and has the same great attitude that I love about him!!

So, overall, life is great!! I'll try to get some more exciting posts with pictures soon!!

California + Birthday = Best Day Ever

Ok, so this post is going up a little later than I had hoped, but here it is. Two weeks ago, Brock and I split from Utah and hit the road to California, for my 3rd time this year, it never gets old. Here is the play by play of what we did.

Saturday:

• Left RC Willey and drove and drove and drove
• Stayed at his sister's house in Palmdale and watched the BYU vs Texas game
• Slept. Yes, I slept on the bottom bunk of his neice's bunk beds.

Sunday:

• Woke up and played with the kids
• Had breakfast made by Michelle and Brock
• Got ready for church
• Drove to Camarillo
• Went to his YSA ward. 1 word...TINY!!!!!
• Took a much needed Sunday nap
• Met the rest of his fam and had Sunday dinner
• Played games with the kids and then games with the adults
• Went to his brother McKay's house and chilled
• Went for a walk

Monday:

• Slept in a little bit
• Went to his high school to visit people and see where he went to school

• Took lunch to the office of the family business and ate with them all
• Went shopping for my birthday gift
• Drove down the PCH for a while
• Had ice cream at a cafe on the airport runway
• Ate dinner with the fam
• Went and watched the sunset on the beach

• Watched a movie

Tuesday:

• Happy Birthday to Me!!
• Brock woke me up and had a breakfast all made and ready for me complete with flowers and everything.
• We went to a WWII air musuem that we discovered at the Camarillo airport just down the road. They had two of the planes my Grandpa Neiswender flew. The B-25 and C-47.(Just for the record though, the airplane he flew most is a P-61)

• Spent a little time with his parents
• His brother McKay took us to get some delicious Mexican food
• Finally, wait for it...wait for it...HE TOOK ME TO MY FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME!!!! I have always always always wanted to go to one and this did not disappoint. His whole family consists of all Dodgers fans so that's where we went. His brother Mckay and Wife Rachel came and man we had a great time!! I loved every minute of it. Even though the dodgers didn't win.

Outside Dodger Stadium

Inside Dodger Stadium

Tim McGraw

How much do I love this man?????

The answer is...A LOT. I love love love Tim McGraw. This is my 3rd time seeing him perform at USANA amphitheater and it is never a disappointment. He is so good and his songs are CLASSIC. I could never pick a favorite of his songs, he is just so great.

Added bonus...I got to go with this lovely lady. It was my first time seeing her since the engagement so a little shout out to my girl...congrats Checko!!

Moving Woes (Stated As Facts...Not Drama)

Check out this pile of Junk. Yes, that is pretty much the majority of my possesions. How do I have so much stuff?!?!!!! And I am convinced that I donated/threw away at least this same amount. Ridiculous.

As previously stated, I was moving/have now moved. Let's break this down.

August 13th - moved out of Park Plaza.
August 13th - moved into Mom and Dad's
September 1st - moved out of Mom and Dad's
Septembr 1st - moved into Sandy house

It is now September 9th and I am still unpacking. Poor roommates. I am sorry. I am NEVER home. I only have a few boxes left to unpack, most of which is my kitchen stuff which who knows when I will unpack because anytime I have a chance the roommates are asleep and I don't want to wake them up.

I am so grateful to finally be getting settled in to my new place because at this point I have been living out of boxes for nearly a month!! Sheesh it gets old.

Here are the stats on the new place:

• There were snail shells on the inside of my window screen


• There is mold growing on the ceiling of the shower


• Between the four girls that live with me I think they have said a cumulative 50 words to me since I moved in. They are all in the bedrooms at all times if they are home, even if they are awake.


• There is no outlet in the bathroom. I repeat...NO OUTLET


• And even worse...ZERO CELL PHONE SERVICE

What the freak. I mean I like it, it looks nice, but these little deets are killing me. I am working on getting all these kinks worked out. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. Meanwhile, I will keep unpacking.

Now Introducing...

As some of you have noticed, there has been a lack of blogging about current events/fun things happening in my life. Well, aside from the mess of moving, the bulk of the reason is because of this boy, and these are the things we have done together.

Had front row sets for a Real Salt Lake game

Went to a Bees game and watched the fireworks

after the game

Went to the Draper temple and did

baptisms and confirmations

Went mini golfing with Checko and Jordan

Went to a high school football game

Rode my first jet ski at Ali's B-day

Went boating/wakeboarding

There are lot of other things that I haven't got pictures of, but, it is with no further adieu that I introduce to you all, Brock Barlow. He is officially my boyfriend and it is the happiest relationship I've ever had. If you don't know him yet, you should probs meet him, because he is fantastic. However, I will not turn in to one of those bloggers that makes you want to gag over all the cutsie/cheesy things, and if I do, feel free to call me out on it.

Trap Shoot Anyone?

Ok, check it. So at the Olpin reunion trap shoot, I proved to be quite a shot. Who knew? Not me. I still think it was beginners luck. Either way, It was sweet. I hit 8 out 10 in the first round. Beating out my dad, my brother Troy, and my brother in law Josh who have all shot plenty before. I had shot once. A year ago. It was awesome. So I wound up advancing to the finals and shooting against all my relatives that are serious hunters and were raised with a gun in their hands. I didn't win overall, but I definitely held my own and was the cheered for underdog. It was pretty sweet. We'll see how next year goes, hahaha!!!

Also, Mom, Davy and I were the only ones to finish the hike all the way. It wasn't my favorite hike ever, but we enjoyed our time together!!

Davy and I on the RR tracks

Me, Davy and Mom

Mom and Me

Hymn #19

"We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet"

Amen. Enough said.

Ok, not really, here's the story. So as a youth, President Hinkley was my prophet. Most people in my generation feel that way. I had the opportunity to be near him and feel his spirit through musical opportunities I had. Those experiences were HUGE in me having a testimony that he was a Prophet of God. When he passed away, I fully sustained President Monson as the new prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I never questioned him or his authority, however, I just didn't have the connection with him that I had felt with Pres. Hinkley.

On July 24th, (yes, pioneer day) we had the blessing of having President Monson attend my parent's ward, AKA: the ward that I grew up in. His granddaughter was blessing her baby that was born pre-mature and had lots of struggles. I heard word of it the night before from one of my best friends growing up. I wasn't 100% sure it would happen, but I figured I didn't want to miss it if it did. So I postponed the musical number that I was supposed to do in my Provo ward and headed to Murray. Relief Society and Sunday School were normal, but as Vicki sat there with Addie in her lap napping waiting for Sacrament Meeting to start, in walks President Thomas S. Monson. Three rows in front of us. I have been to general conference and other events with the prophet present, and it's always neat when he walks in and everybody stands, but this was exceptional. The little boy in front of me who was four or five looked at President Monson and then up to his big sister and said "Is that him? Is that really the prophet?" He was so excited to see the prophet and recognized him on the spot. I almost cried cause it was so precious. Oh wait, I did. Then as he was sitting on the stage waiting for the meeting to start, Addie woke up, sat straight up on Vicki's lap, and started waving at President Monson, even the 14 month old baby could feel his spirit and knew that something about it was unique and special.

The speakers were all super nervous, the bishopric was on their best behavior on the stand and so were all the little primary kids in the congregation. And oh yeah....guess who had been called to say the opening and closing prayers for the meeting? None other than Mamma and Pappa N. They had (some would say got) to pray in front of the prophet. Yikes. But of course, they both did great, cause that's just how they are.

At the end of the meeting President Monson shared some thoughts with us as well as his testimony. It was an absolutely incredible experience. I do not hesitate at all to say that I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called by God to preside on the earth today. He is a loving man sent to guide us and keep us on the straight and narrow, for which we should all be grateful and sing saying "we thank thee oh God for a prophet!!!"

3-2-1-BLAST-OFF!!

Ok, so this post is only 2 months late, no big deal, summer time just gets super crazy busy, but what else is new? That's life, and I love it.

So in June our family activity was a rocket launching day. Everybody went up to the museum at Hill Air Force Base (except I was stuck at work) and then that night we all went to the elementary school to launch model rockets that we had built with dad as kids. This was one of my favorite things when I was younger. Dad and I built a SWEEEEEET rocket that was our last one and we never launched it. It was a Christmas gift to me from him that we made together. We painted it orange and black in honor of my soccer/high school colors...and just because orange is my favorite color. It is over three feet tall and breaks into three pieces for landing instead of the standard two. Well we finally got to launch it and it was a blast. Literally. The pieces scattered. One landed near us, one landed on the other side of the school, and another one ended up a block and a half away in a tree, but don't you fret, we got it all back!!

The kids had so much fun watching the rockets and running around chasing them as well as just running on the big open field pretending to be airplanes and rocket ships, so much fun.

Me with my rocket

Dad and Timmy launching

Me and Dad with the rocket we made.

I'm still not quite sure how the rocket got lined up with

Dad's throat but I blame it on Troy.

Rylee being a size comparison for my rocket.

Apartment Shopping

So I have to move out of my Provo apartment this month. I have lived there for four years now and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to go somewhere new. However, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being I really don't like it, the world of apartment shopping is probably at a -4 in my books. I never moved once as a kid, I lived in the same house my whole life, and when I moved to college, I lived in the same apartments the whole time. Moving is not my thing. At all. So the last few weeks I have dedicated more time than I had wished to finding an apartment, driving to and from Salt Lake to check them out, creating lists and comparison lists of what is where and what I like and don't like about each of them. Well, tonight I finally picked one.

It is actually a house on the east side of the valley. It doesn't look like much on the outside but the inside has been redone and looks pretty good. I will have my own bedroom (big enough for my HUGE bed) and plenty of storage space throughout the house. It is well kept, has good landlords from what I could tell in the 20 minutes I spent talking to her, all of the girls there are very active LDS, most are all done with college. It will be a big change of scene but I am really excited. I'm anxious to go to a normal singles ward rather than a BYU ward. (Don't get me wrong, I love my ward and the people in it, but I'm just excited to ditch parts of the BYU mindset.) I don't move in until the 1st of September though so there will be a 2 week limbo in which I will be bunkin' up with my folks.

Now for the moving part....

HP7P2

AKA: Harrpy Potter 7 Part 2. Let's talk about how Harry Potter has taken over my life for the last week. The last Harry Potter movie came out in theaters on Friday so some people in my ward decided to have a Harry Potter movie marathon...and I was nominated to host it. It was crazy but so fun!!! There are 7 movies on video already so we watched one every single night til they were finished and then the next day went to go see the new movie in theaters. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Such a great movie.

I had never read the seventh book and I told myself I wouldn't watch the movie til I had finished the book, so all week I was hustling like crazy to finish the book. In any free time at work I was reading, any free time at home I was reading, and when I was home and not reading...I was watching the H.P. marathon. My life became Harry Potter, I honestly thought at one point I was in Godric's Hollow. It was out of control, and totally worth it, we had so much fun and the movie AND the book were great!!

Released

Today was kind of a strange day in my world. I woke up to be to my meetings by 7:30 knowing full well the events that would take place today. I went to my meetings, worked on ward stuff like we do every Sunday and then walked down to Sacrament Meeting. And then, just like that, it happened, I was released from Relief Society President. I have known for a few weeks that it was coming, but I didn't really know what to expect as far as what I would feel. I did alright during church, but as I walked out of relief society, past the bishop's office and to my car, I couldn't help but cry a little bit, and this is why.

I loved serving as the president, I won't lie. A lot of people asked me throughout the last year if it was a burden, or a pain, or told me they were so sorry that this was my calling. I never understood that. Yes, it kept me busy, yes it was a lot of work, but yes, I loved it. The president before me hated the calling and counted down to the day we as a presidency got released for months. I swore to myself when I got called to take her place that I would never complain. It is a calling from the Lord and I was the one chose to accept it, so I had no right to complain. Yes, there is more that I could have done, there always is, but I am so grateful for all that I got to do. I love the Gosepl and I am so happy to serve in it anyway that I can.

Scars

Disclaimer: This is going to be a minorly melodramatic post, involving an anology, so if you are anti those kinds of posts, feel free to stop reading right now. I think of analogies a lot about the things that are happening in my life, but tend to just keep them to myself. However, I have a few friends that need to hear this one right now just as much as I do. **cough cough: Twin**. So here it is.

As stated in my last post, the doctors removed a piece of my leg last week. Prior to this procedure, I thought that I had a healthy, strong leg that suited my needs perfectly. Well, come to find out, there was for some reason something unhealthy about a small piece of that leg, so as stated, the doctor surgically removed it. It made me sick to watch it. I had a limp for days giving away my weakness to everybody that saw me. My leg is in minor pain that usually sits in the background of my thoughts and when I least expect it shoots a deep pain almost to the bone or all the way down my leg, or it just starts burning. It is uncomfortable, and it hurts. But every single day more of that hole in my leg is getting healed, and soon, it will be nothing more than a scar, and guess what? My leg will still function, it will be healthy and strong, life will keep going, and I will have a scar to remember what I went through.

This is similar to life and to the people that enter our life. (In this given moment, it is directed to those of us that are single and stuck playing the dating game.) Sometimes people come into our lives that we think we can't live without. We invest emotion in them to the point where they become a piece of who you are. But life doesn't always go our way, and sometimes it is best for those people to not play that part. So, our Heavenly Father finds a way to remove them from us. This is painful, and it hurts. Those around you know that you are disappointed, and at times, heartbroken. And as you start to heal, it still hurts but you try not think about it. There are times when you can't help but think about it and it hurts every part of your heart. But guess what? Each day, you get better and better. Eventually, the stitches will come out, and then one day, you will be whole. That piece of you will be gone, but the scar will take it's place so that you can remember that person that touched you once and to remember the life's lessons that were learned through the process.

Gimped

This past Monday I had the thrilling experience of having a chunk taken out of my leg. It started about a month ago when I had a biopsy done on a new mole that had developed. Being the fair skinned soul that I am, I knew I should probably check in with the doc about it so I did. The results of the biopsy said that while I didn’t have legit skin cancer, I had what they call a “Spitz Nevus”. Technically it is a benign juvenille melanoma which makes no sense, even the doc admitted this. Basically it's melanoma cells that aren't developing from what I gather. This usually occurs within the first 20 years of life, but the mean age for these is 22.How convenient that I am 22, guess I’m just your average Joe. Also, only 1 in every 100,000 people develops one of these. Lucky me.

So, I had to go back in to the doctor (after my surfing trip cause I wasn't about to let stitches keep me out of the ocean) to have them take the chunk out. He numbed the area but I was still awake so had/got to (depending on the moment) watch as he cut and took out a chunk of my leg. The incision was about 2 inches long, mostly oval, about 3/4 of an inch wide, and almost an inch deep. Yuck. Then he stitched me up, glued tape over the stitches and sent me on my way. The melanocytes are outta there!

Being the tough person I think I am, I didn't fill the prescription for the pain meds. I figured that since it was basic enough for me to watch and only get minorly sick, then I shouldn't feel that much pain. Wrong. So wrong. The numb didn't wear off for about 12 hours, but when it did I was happily asleep and rudely awoken by the unpleasant feeling of every stitch in my leg tugging my skin back together. It hurt a little, but was mostly just so uncomfortable, and then painful. I did not sleep the rest of the night, so needless to say, I filled the prescription the next day so that I could sleep that night.

Here are the unfortunate results:

• A scar that will be at least 2 inches long.
• Having to wear a skirt to work all week.
• Random stabs of pain in my leg that make me literally squirm.
• Having a significant limp since it is right above my knee, it pulls the stitches every time I bend my knee.
• Not being able to play in my first softball game.
• Not being able to play in my first football game.
• Climbing the stairs SUPER slow. (This is the first time that I haven't enjoyed the 3rd floor in 4 years)
• No swimming or boating for two weeks. (Just days after our pool finally opened)
• The process of getting to a sitting position on the toilet with one leg straight.
• Having to shower with saran wrap around my whole thigh which is uncomfortable and also means no shaving that area for two weeks.
• Oh yeah, having people see this beauty:

The fortunate results:

• Being cancer free!!! Worth it.

Surfs Up

This last weekend I checked two more things off of my life long to-do list. The first and most important one was a HUGE deal. If you have ever even seen my bedroom, it would be apparent. There is a surfboard french memo board, surf board pillow, surf board salt and pepper shakers used as decoration, surfboard picture frames, etc. You get the idea. I have always always ALWAYS wanted to learn how to surf. However, I don't really live near a beach. And I am also horribly terrified of being submerged under water.

Well...I did it. I was in California this last weekend with my friend Levi and his family. His sister is the lovely Andrea that was my roommate last fall so we all met up to go surfing which was awesome!! He was really great and stayed by my side out in the water coaching me through it until I was ready to be done, but I legitimately did it. I paddled out over the waves (easily the hardest part), I picked a wave, I paddled for it, felt it and stood up. A couple times even. That's not to say that I stood for very long cause it took me a few seconds to stand up, but I did it!! That part was actually way easier than I expected which I attribute to snowboarding and wake boarding, as if I needed another reason to love those two sports. So ya, life dream come true. I ingested way to much salt water, got pounded by waves being forced under water, gave my upper body an excellent workout that I am still minorly sore from 4 days later, and I loved every minute of it!!!!

The other thing we did was have a bonfire on the beach that night and roast hot dogs, such a good time. This time we were at a beach in San Diego which was fun, I've never been to a beach down there, but it wasn't too different from the beaches up north. I have always wanted to have a fire on the beach and we definitely made that happen. Overall, I would say it was a successful day to do two awesome things that I've always dreamed of!!

Check

I wouldn't say that I have an official bucket list in life yet, just a bunch of things in my head that I want to do. One of these activities is snow shoe somewhere with my snowboard strapped to my back and then board down. Well...I can now check that off the list that doesn't really exist.

About two weeks ago, my friend Jon and I decided that we would do this. Mind you, it was May 31st and had just snowed the previous day in the mountains so the conditions were prime. We went to Brighton Ski Resort. I was hoping we could get to Lake Mary because I have yet to see it in the winter, but it's hard to follow a trail that is buried under at least five feet of snow. So we wound up snowshoeing it for about two hours and then strapped our snowboards on and rode down, it was so fun!! And I won't lie, I felt like a hardcore outdoor enthusiast for the first time in a long time. It was hard, but definitely not as hard as I thought. Next time I'll know what to expect and what to be prepared for, including NOT eating Cafe Rio half an hour before starting the climb.

Steepest part of our climb, and easily the funnest

Jon's hardcore shot

Me ready to hit it. The coat didn't last long, it was pretty toasty.

Jon and I after we were done for the day

Dream Job

Ok, so a couple weeks ago I was helping customer at work fill out a credit application. Usually if a woman isn't employed and is just counting her husband's income we have them fill the word "homemaker" into the employer/occupation spot. Well, I noticed that this customer didn't fill in that box so I asked her if she was a homemaker or retired. She looked at me and said "Even better. I am a domestic goddess."

Um...yes please. I don't think she believed that I was serious when I told her that is my dream occupation. And I have no problem knowing that I could rock that position.

Tender Mercies

Holy Smokes, there has practically been a drought in my blogging world for the last two months, and now I think of at least one new thing to blog about each day...whatever happened to all things in moderation? Haha, not sure. However, today is Sunday and if I blog on Sunday's I try really hard to make sure it is something dealing with the Gospel.

As I sat through church and pondered throughout the day I couldn't help think about all the tender mercies that I was given in this last week. I made a big choice this week which I am not revealing to the public yet, but if you ask me in person I'll probably tell you. Anyways, the first half of the week was really rough, but could not have ended any more happily. I finally have answers and confirmations that I have been waiting months for. The Lord sent me so many tender mercies this week to remind me that even though it was hard, I was doing what was right and that He was helping me as much as He could while still giving me room to grow. Here are some of those tender mercies:

• People: Vicki, Checko, Ali G., Ali W., Robert, John, Jon, Katherine W, Ryan, Mom.
• Places: Oakcrest, Provo Temple, Brighton, My Car.
• Activities: Tandem biking, ultimate frisbee with strangers, hiking, snowboarding, Oakcrest traditions, talking to my best girlfriends on the phone), stargazing.
• Things: Hymns, scriptures, Cafe Rio food, Cambrie's lesson on the Atonement.

And that's just a few of them.

I honestly am so grateful that my life is so richly blessed with great friends and family that are always there for me. The majority of the time they may not even know anything is wrong, but they still always manage to be there when I need them. I am so happy with the choice that I have made and confident in the fact that it is exactly what I need to be doing. I am thankful for the chain of events that finally led me to this choice and to those that helped me get there.

Vegas Trip

This past weekend, Katherine Welch (roomie) had her mission farewell. I am so proud of her and her choice to serve the Lord. There was no way in the world that I was going to miss this event. It was a holiday weekend and I work retail, so I knew it would be tricky, but we worked it out. I was able to leave work a few hours early on Saturday so we left right away, and drove back late late Sunday night. Here's what happened in between:

• Katherine Spoke in church. Obviously the most important reason why were there. She did great and I was so happy to be there for it.

• We stayed at a place name Arizona Charlie's. Winner.
• We played on the strip and mostly accomplished nothing more than hoards of window shopping.

Ali, Jon, Me and Rich

In front of the Venetian

I bought these sweet pants that happened to match Katherine

Group shot

Ali and I goofing off.

Pretty sure we kept each other laughing at least 90% of the trip.

Growing

Life after graduation has lots of changes in it. Most of them were expected, but some of them I definitely did not expect. It has been a harder adjustment for me than I thought it would be, I mean life is great and I love it, and I wouldn't trade my life with any body else's in the world, but there are so many changes taking place and many more changes to come that I am at a point where sometimes I don't even know what's going on. My whole life has always been planned, structured, prepared and carefully thought out with an end goal in mind. However, right now, I don't know what my end goal is, it is all a whirlwind of choices, and whichever choice I make results in significant change in my life. As I was thinking about this the other day, I realized that my life is very comfortable. And then I remembered a quote from my good friend Ryan Johnson. (I'm pretty sure that's who I hear it from, feel free to take credit Ryan.) This is what he said:

"There's no comfort in the growth zone, and no growth in the comfort zone."

So, I am kicking myself out of the comfort zone. I refuse to stay stagnant, because in staying stagnant, you are really just move backwards. So bring on the growth, because from here, I will only move forward.

Little Brother

As you all probably know, Little Brother is in Honduras on his mission. I am so proud of that boy and how hard he is working and the great attitude that he carries. This was this weeks e-mail, I usually just post them to his blog, but he gave a special shout out to the sisters in this one, so I'm posting it to mine. I couldn't agree with him more, I am so proud of him and grateful for his example to me and those around him.

Dear Mom and Everyone else,

Thank you all for all your love and support over the past few weeks. I relize it might be rude to say, but I have been taught not to lie, I am excited for Wednesday. Elder Marcia gets his wish of going home and I get a new comp who hopefully shows respect for people. I don´t know where me and him went wrong, but just know that I don´t care who my next comp is, he is going to be my favorite right from the get-go. A lot of elders in the zone see how Elder Marcia treats people like dirt and ask how I went 3 months without hitting him. I can honestly say that I prayed in the morning, mid-day, night, and a few times inbetween for patience and love, and I think it worked.

I found the thing that really got under my skin about this guy, and it is something that has angered me only once, and it is something that I learned from having 4 older sisters, a great sister in law and a fantastic mom. Marcia has absolutely NO respect for women. My wonderful sisters, sister in law and mom, have always taught to to respect woman. It is something that I have tried for a while to practice. Now, as can testify my boy Brad Johnson, there are few things that make me more angry than when a man (if he deserves that title) mistreats a woman. There is no reason for it. There is no gain from it. There is only sadness from it. This part of the email is to the guys that will recieve this. GIVE PROPER REPESCT TO WOMEN!

This part is for the women that will recieve this email. To my Madison, Melanie, Kristi, Vicki, Danielle, Mom, Kaitlin, Grandma N. and Grandma O. and any aunts cousins or any other reading. One of the few things that make me more angry than a man who mistreats a woman is when that self same woman accepts the abuse in anyform and laughs. There are times for laughter and there are funny jokes. Be wise in knowing where the line between joking and reality lies. DEMAND RESPECT! There is no reason to accept insults from low down men (and I use that title loosely). Have the courage to tell them how you feel and how they should treat you. I have seen first-hand young women down here broken down, nearly to tears, by cold unfeeling men. Yes even one man who carried the title Elder. Don´t let this happen. Don´t degrade yourselves. You are far to precious to our Heavenly Father to think of yourselves as below us men.

I´m sorry if this email sounds like a chastisement, but it is what I feel. It´s shouldn´t taken hard because the people I know that are reading it already follow this advice. This is only a warning for the future. Please give respect where respect is due, and if it is not due, help that person to earn it. I can´t remember who origionally gave this quote but I heard it in sunday school a long time ago. It refers directly to high school, but involves life as a whole. "Popularity ends on yearbook day. Respect lasts forever."

I love you all, and hope for the very best in all your endeavors.

Love,

Elder Neiswender

Isn't he a gem? I tell ya, the girl who marries this boy one day is a lucky one!!

Keep Your Head Up

So this whole week has been very missionary-esque in my world. Not in the sense that I all of a sudden feel the need to go on a mission, but just in the sense that I have had a lot of opportunities to think about the missionaries in my life right now.

1. Gonzo. AKA: Angela Glade. I have not written her in ages and Check does so much better at staying in touch with her so I just keep caught up that way. But apparently Gonz keeps bringing up how she hasn't heard from me in ages, so I finally took some time to write her a letter.

Gonz and I at Oakcrest

2. Marissa. AKA: Riss. Love this girl's guts. She is one of the few girlfriends that I made in high school that I still associate with. She is one of the best friends I have ever had. I got my first letter from her in months this last week. She sent it to my parents house so I had to wait a few days to get it, but I was thrilled. It was a perfect missionary letter and she sounds so great. She even wrote it on orange paper for me, that's how good of a friend she is. Hahaha. Also, I ran into her parents at Shay's wedding last night and spent a little while talking to Mama Purser and getting a full update on all things Marissa/all things Purser, it was wonderful.

Riss and I at a football game

3. Little Brother. AKA: Travis. We got to talk to him on Sunday for Mother's Day and it was soooooooooo great!! Sheesh that boy amazes me. He is learning and growing so much, I am so proud of him. He was still the same old funny Travis on the phone. We all sat in the same room and took turns using the two phones to talk and listen and then had the third one on speaker so that we could all hear and chime in. My whole life I felt like I had to be an example for my little brother, but with him serving a mission now, he is an example for me. We talked to him for two hours and I literally fell asleep with the phone on my ear by the end just listening to the sound of my little brother's voice. I try not to miss him too much, but sometimes, I do. However, there is nowhere else that I would rather have him be right now than serving the Lord in Honduras with everything he's got.

Me and Little Brother after his

Prince Charming competition.

As for all my other friends serving missions, sorry you got left out, but these three have been on my mind all week.

Final missionary thought for the day: As a few of us were driving back from dinner tonight, I noticed two Elders walking down a side street, probably heading to their apartment because it was getting late. I noticed that they were both slightly dragging their feet and that their heads were both down. All I wanted to do was pull them aside and say "Boys, if you are going to take on the world, you've got to lift your head up and look it in the eye." This is something that doesn't just apply to missionaries, but to all of us. I don't remember who it was that said this to me, or if it was in a general conference talk or something, all I know is that it has always stuck with me.

I used to be one of those people that would just stare at my feet when I walked not really worried about everything else around me, but the day I heard this and started practicing it, my whole view of the world changed. Literally, haha. But really, look the world in the face, have confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. Enjoy the beautiful scenery, and love every moment for what it is.

BYU Graduation 2011

One week ago from today I graduated from Brigham Young University in Exercise Science with an emphasis on Exercise and Wellness. I have been here for four years now and I have finished all my course work. I could have technically done it in two, since I graduated high school with my associates degree, but I was in no rush. I took some classes that weren't required that did me no good towards my degree, but that I thought I would enjoy. I also had some semesters where I didn't go to school full time. And I also had to retake a couple of courses. Overall, I am very pleased with my education. Looking back right now I wish that I would have studied harder, but I have all my materials still and plan on going through parts of it all over again.

So the big graduation commencement was on Thursday April 21, 2011. It was a great ceremony. Elder Richard G. Scott spoke and gave some great advice as he spoke to all the graduates.

My favorites were:

• Making consistently correct choices will build your character. Our character is the yard stick the Lord will use to measure the success of our mortal life.
• Offered the followings steps for success: 1.Make a set of standards and principles to guide your life. 2. Don't make exceptions to your standards. 3. Be loyal. 4. Live so the Lord can guide you to where He wants you to serve. 5. Serve. 6. Smile. 7. Don't complain. 8. Always have a church assignment. 9. Go to the temple. 10. Use the Savior Jesus Christ as your example for life.
• Do what is right, let the consequence follow.

I loved his whole talk, I'm trying to track it down so I can re-read it, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Convocation was on Friday April 22, 2011 and that is where I actually walked across the stage and they read my name. I wore 5 inch heels and may or may not have had a minor trip walking down the ramp from the stage, too funny.

Walking at convocation

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to attend an institution where religion is not something that is Taboo conversation. As weird as some of the people are here, I am grateful for BYU and all the other life lessons it has provided me. And now that I am graduate, I must follow the phrase "Enter to learn, go forth to serve".

Dinner at Buca Di Beppo with the fam to celebrate

Me with my Diploma

"Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve"

My favorite classroom at BYU.

Room 201 in the Smith Field House.

It's the hardest room on campus to find but I had my personal

training classes there so I loved it!

Mom, Me and Dad after Convocation

Me with Dallin, Rylee and Addie

The members of my fam that came to convocation

Rylee, Dallin, Melanie, Dad, Me, Mom, Vicki, Addie

Me and my roommate Katherine Welch

Me and Momma Love

Precious little grad pic

Me and Katie. I lived with her for my first two years and

it was so fun to walk with her at Commencement.

Katherine Kerr and Me

We graduated so we don't have to work

at RC Willey forever.