Oh Daddy-O!

Here are a few pictures from my most recent adventure. I flew down to Texas to visit my dad who has been working there for nearly a year and a half. I needed a vacation and the very first thing that came to my mind was my dad in Lack Jackson, Texas.















I was thinking about it as my dad and I frantically tried to fit in every possible thing and I came to the conclusion that I have a ton of memories of my dad and I at zoos and galleries and other field-trip esque places. You might ask why. Well it's because I'm pretty sure my dad was there for 100% of my field trips from grade K-10. And it only goes to 10 because I didn't really go on field trips in high school - I went on tour and I bet my dad would have been to those in a heartbeat as well if finances had allowed. Anyway, my point being that my dad was always there. Perpetually. And I loved it. I never felt like he was overbearing and my friends generally felt comfortable around him (or at least they seemed to be, and they never said anything otherwise). What I'm trying to say is a great big thank you to my dad. For always being there pops. I love you.

100 Reasons Why...

So this is my one hundredth blog post, woot for me! I'm a nerd that blogs instead of doing anything productive with life. So today I am writing the ultimate list.

100 Reasons Why Life is Pretty Ok ;)(in no particular order)

100. Eating Chicken Salad Sandwiches :)
99. Making Chicken Salad Sandwiches
98. Playing pirates and having my nephews say "AYE AYE CAPTAIN!" to everything I say.
97. Home.
96. Friends.
95. Roommates that decorate the apartment, keeping it festive and awesome.
94. Roommates period.
93. E-mails from Missionary Mindy, her love of life and service.
92. Birthday packages! Even if they're sent late...
91. The Office.
90. Sunshine.
89. The leaves, the color, the crunchy crispiness of each gold and red leaf.
88. Hiccuping, sometimes its fun. And for some reason it makes me think of babies.
87. Breakfast.
86. Lunch.
85. Dinner.
84. Eating.
83. The fact that my roommate buys ice cream and then insists that everyone eat some of it.
82. My niece, Jayna Nayna.
81. My nephew Logan, and how he can talk your ear off no matter what.
80. Lucas, how he laughs can make me smile anytime, anywhere, and has even made me cry cause I was so happy.
79. Jake and the fact that he finally remembers that I'm Aunt Megan, not Mindy.
78. Cohen and his amazing ability to light up the whole room with a smile, or just sticking out his tongue.
77. Flying to Texas.
76. The fact that it's going to be 37 degrees in Logan, Utah on Saturday and 82 degrees in Texas on the very same day.
75. A sink full of dirty dishes magically turning into cupboards full of clean dishes.
74. Chocolate + Popcorn + Gilmore Girls + Rainy Day.
73. Cary Judd and his mellow, let's take a nap kind of music.
72. A dad that texts me every morning counting down the days till I land in Texas.
71. A mom that wants to drive me to the airport instead of having me parking in the car park.
70. Sisters that cut and color my hair for free.99!
69. Friends that give you 30% off coupons at Old Navy.
68. Institute, even when you don't feel like going.
67. Prospects of being on a beach the day after tomorrow in chacos and a swim suit.
66. Getting homework done early.
65. Watching movies in classes.
64. Guest speakers in classes (that you're not going to be tested on).
63. Snow (except for driving in it...)
62. Things that are distracting enough that you can only think about that one thing, aka Texas.
61. Good music.
60. A new genre of music.
59. Jack Johnson.
58. Country music.
57. Coming home to hear Sallie in the bathroom, music blaring, and her singing along. As much as she thinks I think it's annoying, it's really endearing to me and I like it.
56. Friends that inquire about your physical, emotional, and spiritual well being without missing a beat.
55. Pell Grants!
54. iPods, even if you only have the old school shuffle that looks like a stick of gum.
53. A not broken phone that can send and receive picture messages.
52. Taking and sending a picture of a huge leaf blower on campus that looks like something straight out of a Dr. Suess book.
51. Dr. Suess, we should all read a little bit more of his books. The world would be a better place.
50. Speaking of good books, The Book of Mormon.
49. Which inevitably leads me to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its truthfulness.
48. The fact that whether you think you can or you think you can't you're right.
47. The movie UP! If you have not seen this movie, you must go rent it. Now.
46. "I hid under your porch because I love you" and various other one liners from the aforementioned movie. "SQUIRREL!"
45. Being six years old makes many situations much better.
44. Awkwardness. If you lack it, you can come borrow some of mine. I've got it in Reams, Leagues, Miles, Yards... needless to say I've got an abundance of awkward.
43. Conversations about my awkwardness. Not how to cure it or anything, just how it pervades into everyone's life that I come into contact with.
42. "Seinfeld" conversations.
41. Seinfeld period.
40. Christian Dallen Irie Carnley and his love of Seinfeld.
39. Missionaries in general.
38. Texas, which I may have already mentioned...
37. English Professors. I have yet to go to a class where they either act something out or choose some sort of outrageous voice to portray a character better. It's like going to improve three times a week.
36. Working on this list for about a month and finally deciding to finish it today.
35. Sleep. Sometimes you just need to go to bed.
34. The last couple days I've had an overdose of caffeine and I can't decide if I like it or not, but it can go on the list. Caffeine.
33. youtube, pandora, facebook, blogspot, and other various deviants from homework.
32. Memories, the roses in the December of our lives.
31. Getting slightly sick from popcorn slathered in chocolate.
30. Space heaters.
29. Blankets.
28. Pillows.
27. Pink shorts to wear in Texas!
26. Accomplishing goals (such as this blogpost).
25. Disk chairs, they're very comfortable.
24. Pictures! Looking at them or taking them.
23. Showers, especially after you've worn a hat all day.
22. Sweats and hoodies.
21. Socks!
20. Not being an engineer.
19. Dinner group. Meeting new people, practicing making food, and sometimes failing at making food.
18. Learning. Whether that's from school, or life, learning is good. Even if it might be forced upon you.
17. Having the conviction to want to have a life of adventure, again referencing Up. So really, you need to see this movie.
16. Chapstick.
15. Lotion.
14. Somewhere Only We Know by Keane.
13. Eating ham and cheese for lunch for about a week.
12. Pretending to do homework, while actually writing a blog. You get less dirty looks in the library if you're typing furiously and not on facebook.
11. Being a girl, which means sappy songs, chocolate, naps, tears, and confusion.
10. Basically anything sappy.
9. New music, instead of the twelve cd's in my car that I've listened to ten thousand times over hundreds of miles.
8. Having a computer, I like it.
7. Coming up with reasons why today is pretty ok is a good way to take a positive outlook on life.
6. Eating chocolate is also a good way to take a positive outlook on everything else.
5. Piano music, no matter what it gets me and I love it.
4. Singing, I should probably do that more often, but when I do I love it.
3. Having bus buddies to ride the bus with in the morning. It makes the bus even more enjoyable- because I already love the bus.
2. The cute pictures all over my apartment.
1. There should be something great here for number one, something that says it all in a nutshell... I got nothing. But today is a good day and I suppose I can attribute that to life. Woot for life!

I've recently decided...

that I don't want to be one of those blogger mom types. I dunno why, but I decided that today.

that I need to take a chill pill in every way. Whatever happens will happen for the best if I'm working for the best. So I'll just give it a rest (didn't mean to rhyme just then...)

that school is pretty nice when you're an English Major, not so much if you are an Engineer Major... or any other non liberal arts major.

that no matter what you think it looks like outside, its probably cold in Logan from October to May.

that getting frustrated doesn't help anything or anyone. It causes stress and is just obnoxious.

that ambush Mary Kay facials are not "SO much fun." You end up with an hour wasted, and blue eyeliner on your face and a bitter attitude towards the rest of the day.

that even though it's cold in Logan, I still really like it here.

that going home on Monday makes the week go by extremely fast, pretty great :)

that I post a lot of blogs that are completely useless, oops.

Things that I have missed!

Here is a list of things that I have missed about my dad while he's been gone.

- The way he whistles no matter what he's doing
- His sneezes that you can hear from across the street
- The way he smells, its just good and comfortable
- His smile, and his fangs haha :)
- His witty, if not somewhat inappropriate remarks... which may or may not include profanity. Oops
- His easy-going-ness
- Basically anything and everything, but these things that I've listed in particular.

Things Left Unsaid

I find that I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I attended a funeral on Tuesday and it was beautiful, the flowers, the singing, and the spirit and I decided that I should not leave things unsaid. So this is me saying things I should have said a long time ago.

As I sat in the service for Kenna Smith I watched as her grandchildren stood up to sing a beautiful medley and felt a love so strong I couldn't help but cry. This family had unequivocally and irrevocably accepted me into the fold of this love at a time when I don't believe they knew how much I needed it. I sat there, almost floored at how unbelievably blessed I have been to have any association with this family, with this love, and this bond of friendship. There was a peace there that I could not describe and a love that was unmistakable. So this is for you.

To the Spencer family, the Smith family, the Bintz family, the Huntsman family. You have been the greatest friends and an awesome source of support and love in my life that could only be equaled or rivaled by my own sweet family. For a long time I could not understand how every one of you could accept me so fully and so completely into that fold of love and family, but learning more about the two that started this family it was easy to see why and how. I hope you all know that you have taught me the truest meaning of charity, that pure love of Christ who died for all of us. I hope with all my heart that I can share that in some way with every person I meet, and in my own family one day.

Shannon has always told me that no matter where life takes me she will always see me as one of her own, and I find it a privilege to be thought of as an honorary member of this family- and no matter where life takes me I know I will find love and friendship within this unit.

I guess in a nutshell I am thanking you for every moment that you have shared with me, and for the love and kindness that you continue to show me. You have been a shining example in my life. Thank you once again.

I did not know them

... And yet I loved them.

I've been meaning to write about my trip to Jackson for the past several days and just barely got around to it- it's been a busy week (also a week that has finally started to pick up its pace to normal time). Anyway my weekend in Jackson was great, I made some money, got to play with old friends, and spent some time enjoying the beauty that is Wyoming. My favorite part, however, had to be Sunday.

On Sunday Allison and I both worked a shift from 1-10 so we decided it would be good to attend the visitors ward to take the sacrament and not feel like complete "heathens" -as Allison would put it. So we went to the chapel- after getting the time wrong, going home then coming back, we took our seats in the back of the chapel. They meeting went on as all meetings do, a song, a prayer and then another song. I sat there and thought about who was going to bless and pass the sacrament when I realized that six men had volunteered. Two blessed the bread and water, and four passed them as well.

I sat there astounded by my own feelings. I loved these six men. I couldn't comprehend, I had no idea who these six men were they're stories they're background, but love was the only word I could come up with for them. I loved them for the service that they were performing, and for their worthiness to do so. At this moment I understood to a very slight degree our Heavenly Father's boundless charity- the pure love of Christ. I'm positive I've experienced the feeling of charity before, but I'd never quite understood it as well as I did in that twenty minute interval as these six men humbly blessed and passed the sacred sacrament.

As the meeting continued, three of the six men that passed the sacrament went up to bear a solemn testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. As these three men stood up to bear this testimony my love for them grew. I couldn't tell you any of these brethren's names, but the spirit they bore continued to teach me of that boundless charity.

Needless to say it was an excellent meeting. Oh and one gem that I gleaned from one of their testimonies was this: "That's what the church is all about; Mothers and honeymoons and children. Happiness and joy." Just thought I'd throw that one out there, it made me smile.

Er...

So I haven't posted anything lately that hasn't been copied and pasted out of dictionary.com in quite a while so I figure I could give all two of you a brief update.

The first two weeks of school have been longer than the entire month of July, and I'm not exaggerating, there is not hyperbolic connotation in that statement. September is proving to be the longest month in the history of all months that ever were.

School in and of itself is good, I may or may not still have a crush on my English 2150 Professor and I possibly might have a secret love of diagramming sentences (even though I've failed more than once- I decided not to be afraid of making mistakes though... or something). And my Psych class is as easy as I anticipated it to be. So school has been good but it doesn't seem to make the time go by any faster. Its so weird for me, this whole summer I was itching for hours to go by as fast as humanly possible just so I could be done with a day of work and go and play, but the thing is they went by fairly quickly (I guess thats what happens when you're not engaging your brain very much in the activities you're performing).

So I guess in a nut shell, school is good. Time is going by slower than I've ever previously experienced and I am probably the most impatient person to ever walk the face of the earth. Woot.