I Love to See the Temple!

This week has been a pretty fantastic one!

So Wednesday I finally went to the temple for the first time since Mérida! It’s been three months too long… It was great! I walked from campus (it’s only a 20-30 minute walk or so) and I got so excited when I could see Moroni sitting atop the steeple! Jeez I love temples. They’re so gorgeous!!!

I came in the early afternoon, so it was pretty empty, which was super nice. It was quiet and I took some extra time to write a letter before leaving. Everything in the temple is so peaceful, and the Spirit is SO strong! My mind is so clear and relaxed when I'm there. I missed the feeling going to the temple brings so much, so I'm beyond ecstatic that I went!

Can I just gush to you about how much I love temples?

They are SO DANG BEAUTIFUL. If you had all 141 in front of your face, it wouldn't matter which one you chose, it would be a beautiful building! And the grounds surrounding it are always pretty too!

Two of the more famous temples are the Salt Lake and San Diego temples. And for good reasons too. They are ginormous and look like CASTLES.

Look at that majesty!

Here's a couple of friends and I in front of the Salt Lake temple!:

Awww... All those boys are off on missions now!! :)

My favorite temples are the white ones. I dunno why... I just like them best :) I'm partial to the Washington DC temple too. That one's gorgeous! And it's where my parents got married haha :) 

And I can't help but be proud of the one and only Portland temple!

So gorgeous :)

But these buildings aren't only for decoration. Marriages, sealings of families, and a whole bunch of other wonderful things happen inside. We are so blessed to have the House of the Lord here on Earth. Heavenly Father really loves us! Because of it, we are able to progress to exaltation. 

So basically...

TEMPLES ARE THE BEST!!!

I’m so lucky to have the temple so close! I’m making it a goal to go every week for the rest of this semester, like I did during this past Winter semester. Given, it’ll be a lot harder this semester since I’ll be walking to and from, but I have no doubt it’ll be completely worth it :)

And since I went to the temple on Wednesday, all the new missionaries were getting dropped off at the MTC as I was walking by! It was so exciting! That'll be my friend Hermana McBride tomorrow! She'll be headed off to the Puebla North mission in six weeks and giving me all the ins and out of the mission so I can come prepared. How lucky am I??!

And guess what?!? I HAVE 99 DAYS LEFT TIL I REPORT!

NINETY. NINE. DAYS.

This is crazy!!

Guess what else happened this week?

Adam sent me a package.

Yep, he’s the missionary and he sent ME a package.

I got it on Friday afternoon, but I was so nervous to open it I waited about a half hour after getting home to actually open it up!! 

Don't ask me why I was nervous... I'm just ridiculous :)

He got me this ADORABLE bag, an AWESOME flag, and like a million bajillion letters! I LOVE EVERYTHING!! I've already used the bag (IT'S SO CUTE!), and I'm planning to put the flag up in my room! 

I opened a couple of the letters… And I saw a flash drive in one of them. I was being very indecisive about waiting to see what was on it… 

I figured it couldn't hurt if I just took a peek… And I saw there were videos on there. 

I just about died. 

I watched the first one on there. If you could have only seen my face.

It almost exactly looked like this:

And after that first video I was gone. I couldn't help myself. It just happened...

I ended up watching all the videos on there. 

ALL OF THEM. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE! 

I really need to work on my self-control...

Buuuut that's okay, because I got to see his HOT DANG attractive self in action and hear that voice that I love so so SO much!! I am soooo happy!!!! 

Just to give you an idea of how good he looked...

Yes, I just threw in a pun. From Hercules. :D But it's true! :)

His Spanish has gotten so much better too! And dang can he speak FAST! A lot faster than I can! I hobble along like a tortoise... I bet by the time I get into the field his grammar will be perfect and his Spanish will be tons better than mine! Yayayay! :)

In other news regarding Elder Gibby...

He got transferred last week to a new area, and now is district leader!! He’s going to be training again, which means he’ll have another son! :) I'm so excited to hear about how things go for him.

By the way, Happy Halloween on Thursday! I hope you have fun plans! Personally I hate scary stuff, so I may just stay holed up and watch a "scary" movie like Hocus Pocus hahaha. We'll see!

And by the way,

And that's the truth too :)

658 Days Left! :)

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The Tendency to Being Weird

Today I'm going to tell you about the relationship between my sister and I!

Well, to be honest, more or less I'm going to tell you about what freaks we are... So brace yourself!

So my sister and I...

... Where do I even start?

My sister is six years older than I am, and we've been really close since I was in middle school. People sometimes mistake us for twins for some unknown reason. I mean, we look similar, but not enough to be twins.

This is us 3 years ago. In all honesty we don't have any good ones that are more recent... Oopsie.
But we look pretty normal, right?

Truth be told, we're... er... interesting people when we're together. Actually, it pretty much boils down to us both being weirdos.
When you put us together, this is just a TINY glimpse of what you get:

... Except usually Brooke isn't so cute ;)
Juuuust kidding!!! Hahaha

When my sister and I are together, there's just a lot of laughing and some odd behavior.
For people who don't know us, it would probably be a little worrisome how far gone we get sometimes...

And of course all our strange behavior ends up in a lot of laughing. Actually, we just laugh a lot in general, weird behavior or not. We laugh for the dumbest reasons, too...
For example, one night back in May:

Basically, what happened is that my sister had a speck on her nose, and right when I was about to tell her, she breathed hard enough that it flew away. I thought it was so ridiculously funny that I started cracking up. So of course we both ended up laughing so hard we were crying, and I as I was crying/laughing I was trying to explain to my sister what was so funny... Except it wasn't even that funny!
In my defense though, I was exhausted!

I have stories upon stories of our adventures together. Not the least of which include getting sprayed in the face from spit-water because my sister was couldn't stop laughing with a mouth full of water, and me getting shocked on the butt by an electric fence. Not at the same time though, thank goodness!

Needless to say though, through our mutual weirdness, my sister is my best friend!
We're best freaks forever :)

The reason I'm bringing this up at all is because this past week I got to Skype with my sister the first time since I've come to school!!!

I WAS SO EXCITED.
Two months is too long to go without speaking to her!!

It started out pretty normally, us talking for a little bit, finding out how life, classes, and work have been.

... But then for some reason we began going back and forth saying “croissant” to each other in French accents. 

... Then we started making really ugly faces.
These actually are almost perfect replications:

In the midst of all of this, I realized that my roommates were home and could most definitely hear everything that was going on. You can bet that I wasn't being quiet throughout this whole ordeal.

I thought about my embarrassing actions for a minute, contemplating my roommates' probable thoughts about me being a person with some severe mental issues... But...

So we continued by playing the Star-Bangled Banner on our noses.

We have such deep, meaningful conversations… :)

We have SO much fun together though. I honestly couldn't ask for a better sister :)

My relationship with my sister and my family aren't the only relationships I have that are full of weird fun. Actually, to some extent, I could say that nearly all my relationships with friends include a good amount of dorkiness/weirdness.

... I think I'm seeing a common factor in all this...
I might be the problem...

But hey, being normal isn't very fun now, is it? Everyone's weird to some extent... Just some more than others. Hahahaha.

Even Elder Gibby and I have had some strange moments...

This past week I ran into a document on my computer that had a list of inside jokes/funny conversations that Elder Gibby and I had before he left for his mission.
I was cracking up, thinking, "Who actually HAS these kinds of conversations?!?"

For example (on the less-weird side of the scale), one time we debated whether a ping pong table or a bed would make a better boyfriend/girlfriend. I was absolutely positive that a bed would make a fantastic boyfriend! He would always be there to comfort you at the end of the day and bear all your burdens... You know what I'm saying?

Well Adam was just convinced that a ping pong table would make a better girlfriend than a bed. Something about her being sturdy, reliable, and playful... I don't know WHAT he was thinking.

I mentioned the conversation to him in the e-mail I sent him this week, and he STILL thinks that a ping-pong table wins between the two. Crazy boy! A bed is the obvious winner!

Actually... I'm curious what you all think! So tell me...

Which do you think makes a better boyfriend/girlfriend?

We need this debate settled once and for all... Or we may never be able to die in peace!

If a ping-pong table wins, I won't fight it anymore... But I'm pretty confident that a bed makes pretty good boyfriend/girlfriend material!

Oh, by the way, I'm going to change my posting day to Tuesdays since my Mondays are always super busy! So talk to you next Tuesday! :)

665 Days Left! :)

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Sexy Sax Man & Life Advice

Alrighty, I'm gonna start out with something I probably shouldn't even openly admit to doing... Hahah...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Elder Gibby's mission has a Facebook page, and the mission president's wife updates it with pictures and whatnot every so often. So this past week I was looking through the pictures posted from General Conference. There was a picture of a bunch of Elders (looking so good!), and I noticed someone was tagged in it. 

...Mike Vance. 

My thought process:

"Naaaahhh, it couldn't be his companion, right?"

"Although, Vance isn't a super common last name…"

"Hm… Well…. Okay, I'll just click it JUST to make sure…."

And I saw a picture of Elder Gibby and him as his profile picture. 

I should've stopped myself right then and there, satisfied... Buuuuut I didn't.

I clicked to see the next picture, in which Elder Vance was holding a saxophone.

And you know what was the first thought that came to my mind?

Sexy Sax Man. 

Oh yes.

So, naturally I just HAD to look that up on youtube and listen/rock out to it as I Facebook creeped on Elder Gibby's companion....

... And then I realized what I was doing.

...I'm ashamed. And pretty embarrassed to admit to actually doing that. It was the first time I've Facebook creeped on any of his companions, or anyone related to him in any way, though! 

I really should've been able to contain myself, but… It totally happened. But I'm NEVER doing it again!! I promise!

While we're on the topic of Elder Vance, Elder Gibby told me some shocking news in the e-mail I got today. He said Elder Vance remembers me from when he was in the MTC!

UH. WHAT?! I can't remember ever meeting Elder Gibby's future son!

Turns out Elder Vance was present while I was jumping around and freaking out when I met Elder Boynton, the first missionary I met who was headed to Oaxaca.
... Well then. Who'd of thunk?

Elder Gibby met Elder Boynton too, and he totally remembered me. SCORE!!! I don't regret my overly excited actions from that night at all... TOTALLY WORTH IT! :)

Kay, time for another story! (Lots of stuff actually happened this past weekend...)

So two or three weeks ago I was with my friend Nathanael watching devotional when he decided it'd be really funny to give my number to a random guy. He wrote down my number on a piece of paper and was threatening to give it to someone. I thought I stopped him from giving it away, but later that day he texted me saying that he threw it some guy's backpack while zipping it up.

Gahhhh. Seriously?

I figured I was safe though, because, let's be honest. How many people actually clean out their backpack before the end of the semester?

... Well, this apparently this guy does, because I got this text on Friday afternoon:

"I found this number on a note in my backpack telling me to call this number. I have no idea where it came from or how long it's been there. Do you know where it came from? :)"

... The guy actually texted me. 

I was pretty surprised! But since I was stuck in this situation, I might as well make the best out of it. And who knows, maybe I'd have a new friend on my hands!

So I was getting to know this guy, when out of nowhere he invites me to go to watch Divine Comedy Saturday night. 

Wait... Really? I don't even know you and you'll give me your extra ticket for free...?

He told me he had two tickets and couldn't find anyone else to go with. So I guess it wasn't too weird... Going to watch a comedy show with a stranger? Okay, a little sketchy, but I'm a sucker for free stuff... Not to mention I love to laugh! Soooo I told him I'd go. 

DON'T WORRY. IT WAS NOT A DATE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.

So we met up at the Wilk and watched the show, got to know each other... And he was actually an alright guy! But I think the way that we met just added fuel to the fire of awkwardness... At least we had comical relief :)

I'm actually pretty proud of myself. I got out of my comfort zone and went BY MYSELF to meet a random guy. Not sure if I'll see him again (I don't even really want to...), but hey, it was fun!

The only thing that I regret is that I had to walk home. 
Alone. 
In the dark.

I'm afraid of the dark... :(

But I talked to my sister on the phone while I walked, so it really wasn't too bad :)

Update time for Elder Gibby!

Elder Vance's girlfriend just entered the MTC this last week, so now he's "safe"! He and Elder Gibby had a little party with paletas to celebrate!

Elder Gibby and his companion are STILL leading. SAY WHAT?! And they had a baptism this last week! He was lookin' sharp all in white :)

These two boys are stellar. Period. They're working so hard! Elder Gibby's keeping a positive outlook and doing everything he's supposed to be, so I'm sure he'll be blessed for it!

I AM SO LUCKY. I can't say it enough. Elder Gibby's been a fantastic example to me and I am so glad that Heavenly Father put him into my life!! He's influenced me for good and helped me become a better person. I'm so happy to be so blessed :)

I found out on Thursday that there was a couple missionaries who passed away. It breaks my heart to think about something like that happening, especially because one of them had a girl waiting back home for him… 

I couldn't even imagine something like that happening. It really puts things into perspective. I know missionaries have angels surrounding them and that the Lord protects them, but sometimes the Lord chooses to bring some of his children home sooner than others, and it leaves a painful, long-lasting impression on those who are left here on Earth. And then we start to regret the things we never said or did.

I have enough regrets from when one of my friends passed away in high school, and going through something like that made me not want to have any more regrets. As a result, I've made a few general rules for myself.
Can I share, even if it sounds super cliché? :)

Don't stay angry or sad for too long. Smiling is more fun anyway :) 
Give lots and lots of hugs!!
Smile at everyone you walk by. It helps brighten up both your day and theirs!
Save letters, notes, and all the silly stuff. They're so fun! 
Make it a goal to write letters of appreciation to people who are important in your life.
Take lots of pictures and videos, because later on you'll wish you did.
You can never say "I love you" enough. Say it every single day and mean it.
Use your time wisely. Life really is too short to waste...

(Yes, I used rainbow colors because I like rainbows :))

Never EVER forget that God loves you. No matter your circumstances, who you are, what you've done, or what you believe... He loves you so very much. You're His child, and He could never forget you and will never leave you alone, although sometimes it may feel that way. He's there for you, ever watchful and always willing to listen. Trust in Him. It's so much better than toughing it out on your own :)

Okay, enough of me rambling on, I'm sure you're bored already! Have yourself a FANTASTIC week, and I'll see you next Monday! :)

673 Days Left! :)

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GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THE BEST!!!

So General Conference was this past weekend…

Well, actually, it was totally righteous, but you know ;)

HO-LY COW. THAT WAS FREAKIN’ AWESOME!!!!

Need I say any more?

OH MY UCHTDORF. He is one amazing man!! His talk was one of my very favorites!

And Eyring always touches my heart…

And of course the Prophet is just the holiest man alive.

I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!!

I’m not going to talk much more about it, since I have a TON of things to tell you! Maybe next week I’ll pick out one of my favorites or something :)

But just let me say...

If you missed one of the sessions, GO AND WATCH IT ALL!

Here, I'll even make it easy for you and give you the link:

CLICK ME FOR AWESOMENESS

And if you’re not LDS, I’d highly recommend watching a few of the talks. It’s really uplifting and inspired! It’s not preachy at all. For example, Elder Holland talked about depression. If you’re struggling right now, check his talk out!

And if you’d simply prefer to read, they’ll have it all written out by next week, and I can post the link for that :)

ANYWAY… I got the wonderful experience of actually attending General Conference!

Nothing could make this weekend any better, right?

WRONG!

I got to spend this wonderful weekend with my famiry!! (aka family)!! Well, minus my sister and her husband :( BUT I GOT TO SEE MY BRUDDER AGAM :D YAYAYAYAY! 

Adam (I call him Agam) is the bearded one! hahahah :)

Man, I missed my family so so much. We're such goofs. We always have fun!!!

Example #1:

I forgot to bring my razor in all my stuff that we took up to Salt Lake, so I asked my mom if she had one. 

My dad piped up, "I brought an extra blade, if you want!" 

Then Adam immediately inserted, "Yeah, the one he uses to shave his BACK."

I was dying laughing. I was probably laughing for a good 5 minutes!

Uh, yep. That's my family for you! Weirdos with a great sense of humor. I love them so much! :)

But really, this is how I feel when I'm with my family:

They're a good influence on me ;) Hahahaha.
I'm truly happy and laugh my heart out when I'm with my family though. We always have a ton of fun together!!

Okay, another funny story! So we were waiting to get out of the Conference Center after the Saturday afternoon session, and a couple asked if my brother would take a picture for them. So of course he was being a goof and being funny like his usual self.

Afterward, the guy looked over at me and pointed to Adam and said, "He's a good one!" 

Oh yes. He just did that. He thought my brother was my boyfriend.

I smiled and said, "Yeah he is!! … ...He's my brother." 

He felt so awkward... It was fantastic!!

HAHAHA. Adam and I cracked up about that one for a while :)

Saturday night after Priesthood we all went out to Tucano's as a late celebration of my birthday and a early celebration of my sister-in-law's birthday. That restaurant is CRAZY yummy! If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a Brazilian grill that has a buffet, and then these guys come around to you table and shower you with MEAT. MEAT EVERYWHERE. Holy Martha it was delicious.

With my parents at Tucano's!

I also got some belated birthday presents, which was great! My brother got me a stuffed animal bear. 

And oh my, let me tell you...

I think it's kind of a tradition or something… For as long as I can remember, for my birthdays Adam almost ALWAYS gets me stuffed animals. And I love it! Especially because I got rid of a lot of my huge collection a few years ago. So now I have a very soft stuffed animal bear from Alaska to keep me company!! :D

So basically everything was perfect this weekend! Well, except for one part… I was/am pretty sick. Since Thursday I've been sick-ing it up. I've been having killer headaches, stuffed sinuses, drippy nose, sore-as-heck throat, coughing… Yeah, the works. And my voice is basically gone. I've actually been told it's quite sexy. But it's probably the worst cold I've ever had.

I just wanted to eat a bunch of sugar and die happily...

I had it coming though. I haven't been sick for almost an entire year… So I guess I kind of deserve a killer cold :P

So, understandably, I was pretty miserable this whole weekend. My daddy offered to give me a blessing on Friday, but I turned him down since I figured I'd probably just start getting better the next day, since I thought it was at it's worst. 

Boy was I wrong on that one. I think my dad really likes to give blessings, especially Father's blessings, so now I feel bad now that I realize how often I turn him down. Usually it's because I feel like it makes him go out of his way, but he's just being a really really good dad. 

On Sunday after getting back to Provo, he told me he and my brother were going to give me a blessing. My brother anointed me, and my dad gave the blessing. After getting up and giving them hugs… BAM. MY SINUSES WERE CLEARED.

I was ready to go running!

Okay, maybe not that much, but...

PRIESTHOOD POWER IS SO REAL.

I love the Priesthood so much! It's so incredible. And I'm SO SO SO lucky that I have worthy priesthood holders in my family who aren't just willing to use it, but WANT to use it to help me. I'm not completely better by any means, but I'm definitely better. I can't imagine how much worse I'd be right now had I not had that blessing! I am one lucky girl, and blessed beyond belief.

If you ever are struggling or sick, ask for a blessing!

Even non-members can get a blessing if they want :) Ask the missionaries! They’ll help you :)

And I'm just gonna throw this out there... If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!!

Although it’s been awful being sick, something good came out of it! I wasn’t able to work today! Which may seem weird, because I love my job to death. So yeah, I was a little sad, but it made it so I could FINALLY e-mail back and forth with my beloved Elder Gibby!!! :D

But first I'll start with his activities of this past week!

Elder Gibby and Vance have been the leading companionship in the mission the past two weeks with their lessons and overall success. He had a baptism this past week and has another baptism tomorrow! And he of course loved General Conference, especially Elder Uchtdorf. Great minds think alike, no? :)

Okay, now back to the part where I got to e-mail back and forth with him!!!

Oh my gosh, I'm so dang happy. E-mailing back and forth makes things seem more real!! Communication through mainly e-mail once a week is great, but... It's really easy to feel like all my memories are just a dream. Sometimes I feel like I have a make-believe boyfriend... So it was great to be able to talk to him in real time!

I asked him what the most important thing he could recommend to me for preparing for a mission.

His reply:
"The most important thing... Learn to love the scriptures. Learn to love to talk to people you have never met, and just prepare spiritually by doing everything you can do right."

YOU CAN BET YOUR SOCKS I'M GOING TO DO JUST THAT!

He asked me what he could do better for me. He knows he's limited since he's far away and on a mission, but I think he feels like he's not doing enough for me.

Silly boy! He's e-mailed me every single week along with sending occasional letters, HE SENT ME A PACKAGE (Waaaay more than he had to do. I wasn't expecting that at all!!), and he's been supporting me and encouraging me for these past seven and a half months. He's trying his best, and I think that's what matters most. I'm not his number one priority, and I shouldn't be. I'd be content with him just working his hardest to be the best missionary he can be, and he's already doing that!
He's really so good to me and makes me so happy! :)

Elder Gibby said that we should e-mail like that more often, but I told him that I can't because I work every Monday afternoons :( All I gotta say is that I did some bad planning on my part by working then... Bah :(

Who knows, maybe something will happen and I'll get another Monday free this semester... Adam said that we could probably coordinate it while I'm out on my mission too. If so, that'd be awesome!! :)

679 Days Left! :)