Purge

Kyle is making me purge my wardrobe. I hate doing this. I have to do it about twice a year in order to remain decluttered. Often I have to let go to less inspired fashion moments. There was a pair of pants that I found at Value Village that I thought looked cute on me. NOPE. I put them on again and they were much less flattering around the hip area..... What is funny is that Kyle wanted me to keep them. For once, I was arguing to get rid of something. I think he wanted to keep them because we just got them and they were like 14 dollars or something.....but I can just sell them at Buffalo exchange and get most of that back.

Thats the good thing about buying nice clothes, you can always resell them. I like doing that. Most of the time I'm thinking "why in the world would anyone want this" but second hand stores seem to think so. I will trust their judgement and willingness to give me money : )

So I am supposed to apply for graduate school pretty soon.... I feel like I am done with school. I want to be a teacher but I really hate applying for stuff. I wish things were just offered to me....
Plus all the money that graduate schools take and the fact that teachers cant get jobs currently because all of a sudden EVERYONE wants to be a teacher even though they hate kids. It's lovely really. NOT.

Also, I would like everyone to know that it is unacceptable to tell me that your child is an annoying brat. I don't care how bad a child's behavior is, a child itself it not bad. It just makes bad choices. Sometimes working at the YMCA can be really sad when parents treat children so cruelly. Makes me want to punch something.

From Y Camp to YW Camp

My experience with camp has been amazing. Growing up, I attended a YMCA Camp that I continued to go to every summer until this summer. I have been a camper, a CIT (counselor in training), and AC (assistant counselor), head counselor, office manager, and program director. Most people who know me know that I love Camp Dudley. I talk about it every chance that I get. It means a lot to me, I learned a lot there and most of my cherished learning experiences happened there. Plus it is where I met the love of my life so its pretty special in that way too.

Kyle and I had a second reception up at camp for most of our Yakima friends. Prior to the reception, I decided that I wanted to go up to camp two days early just to have a little bit of it in my summer. This was both a good and bad thing. It was good because it really made me realize where I need to be right now, and that is with my husband in Seattle. It was REALLY hard because it was an official close to a MAJOR chapter in my life. As the final BBQ ended, I couldn't help but cry, I wasn't apart of the amazing experiences that happen there anymore. It was a sad thought. I was happy to leave that weekend because being there took an emotional toll out on me.

Fast forward to today, literally.

I just returned from Ensign Ranch which is a piece of land owned by our church in Cle Elum, Washington (about halfway between Seattle and Yakima). Our church provides a camp experience for all the Young Women (girls 12-17). They get to go up and be in the wood and have fun, but not only that, there is a focus on being spiritual. In my new ward, I was called as a mia maid advisor (I help the 14-15 year old girls) and in being this, I got to drive up to this camp and teach an hour long lesson about "the paths of virtue," eat some dinner, and then go home. Being there triggered something within me. It felt like YMCA camp, but it clearly wasn't. The set up was much different and I was talking about the gospel and spiritual things. But it felt so amazing.

Driving home I had an hour and a half to reflect on my feelings. First I thought about my lesson and hoped that the girls got something out of it. Second, I started getting nostalgic for YMCA camp, and then something dawned on me. YMCA was a huge part of my life and taught me so much but I felt that I needed to move on to something bigger. I feel like Young Women Camp is something that I need to be a part of next year. More so than this year, next year I want to be there the whole week with my girls.

Needless to say, I am excited about my life. I feel like I really have purpose and direction in my new calling. I love the Young Women in my ward. They have so much to offer and give to this world, I just hope they can see that and find worth in themselves.

wedding, honeymoon, life

I am not going to make this long. But I just wanted to share the experiences of my wedding day and the days that followed.

It was the most amazing day of my life. Not because the weather was nice, or the the reception looked beautiful, or even that my hair was the right color. It was because of the temple. I was so excited to get sealed for time and all eternity and the calmness and peace that resides in the temple helped to make the sealing so special. To see my family and friends there was wonderful but to look Kyle in the eye as we were sealed for time and all eternity was breathtaking. The spirit was so powerful and strong. I have never felt it like that before. The more I looked at him, the more real it became and the more the Spirit testified to me that I was making the right choice. After the sealing I was able to spend a moment in the sealing room with Kyle. In those moments I remember feeling that Heavenly Father was so happy. He was so proud of me. I reflect on where I came from to reach that point in the temple and it astonishes me. To think of the love our Father in Heaven has for us. He knows us so well. The Spirit whispered to me that as long as I remained faithful and chose righteous choices, that Heavenly Father would never lead me astray. He would strengthen the bond between Kyle and I and our children and although times would be rough, I would have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. He showed me how it felt. I was so happy to be sealed. I don't think I have ever been happier before. It was the most amazing feeling and I hope that everyone can feel that someday. Leaving the temple was exciting because I was able to see my family. I was able to share my feelings with my mother and just seeing my family on the temple grounds was so special. I hope that one day we can all be there again.

The reception was wonderful and many close friends and family came. The thai food was great, the cake was beautiful and delicious, and the dancing was hilarious. I had forgotten the hilarity of my family but they really made it a blast. My father and brothers dancing was ridiculous, if you got to see it though I am sure you were rolling on the ground.

Since getting married Kyle and I have traveled to Hawaii which was awesome. It was such a relaxing honeymoon. Even though we were in Hawaii, a lot of the time we just stayed in bed and relaxed. We did go swimming, snorkeling, to the Polynesian Cultural Center, to Pearl Harbor and the Missouri, and to the North Shore (where we were filmed for the travel channel for eating this awesome shrimp!). The North Shore was probably the best part of the trip. We first went to the Dole plantation and had the best ice cream ever and then we went to visit the Lai'e LDS temple which is under construction : ( and then BYU-Hawaii. We had shrimp for lunch, some famous shaved ice, saw sea turtles and then read the scriptures together about the blessings of marriage by the ocean. It was wonderful and so special. I will cherish that moment forever.

Anywho, we are back in Seattle. Almost moved in. We have a couch, desk, table, matress, and most kitchen necessities. We are getting a tv from the Knowles, so we need to get a tv stand. We need a bed frame, nightstands, lamps, a rug, and cleaning stuff. Overall its awesome though. I went to my first family ward yesterday and it was interesting. It is A LOT of old people and some young couples. Very little in-between. I was good to go though. It close to our apartment so we can walk and the sun was out.

I would just like to thank a few people for making the wedding so wonderful. First
Carrie: You ROCK! you were so dedicated and were the perfect maid of honor. I knew I could come to you with something and you would help me.
Jeff Crockett: He was there start to finish with me. So dedicated and wonderful. I am excited to see all the pictures he took.
Uncle Patrick: He was in charge a lot of the time which helped me a lot
Jon and Jacob: You guys made any stress of the day bearable with your wonderful humor and help
Kristin and Brittni: I was so excited for you girls to be part of the day. Thank you for making it special by being there

Read Slowly

One lesson I am slowly learning is the benefit of reading slowly. First off you never miss the minute details. Whether it is a government document, a novel, or scriptures, reading slowly allows for you to truly think about the text before you and what it means. I have had numerous English classes where I rush through the reading, come to class the next day and play catch up because I was not reading slowly enough for me to catch an amazingly insightful detail. I often have to remind myself to read slowly because our natural tendency is to get over and done with all things in life. But as I am learning and growing I am discovering the real importance of find joy DURING the journey, not perpetually waiting for the after. Anywho, try reading slower.

How creepy is this...

I know. I'm a freak. But it is just SO fun!

What I love

I love:

-people who don't tell me that I'm weird, annoying, or to be quiet
-thinking critically about what a novel says beyond the actual text
-singing to Veggie Tales songs
-getting free food at Institute or Work
-being able to cry out of gratitude
-pistachio gelato
-sunshine
-finding out how Nordic folktales relate to the gospel
-drawing links to the gospel in EVERYTHING
-not watching tv....sometimes I miss it, but not really.
-thinking about going through the temple
-Kyle L. Prescott
-having everything fall into place right when I think I can no longer take it

hum de dum

It's so easy to procrastinate when you have so much to do. WHY?