Here are some small highlights from the week of October 25th:
1. It was the last week of October and time is flying.
2. Keaton. Especially taco Tuesdays, laughing, and shopping with Keaton. How can you resist someone who tries to fit in a pillowcase in the middle of Walmart?
3. We had a dog in our house for the weekend. Totally not allowed, but totally cute.
Friday, October 30th:
So apparently here at SUU, Halloween is celebrated the day before. I'm just kidding, but Friday night was the SCREAM. The biggest, wildest, craziest dance of the year. Keaton and I went as Bugs and Lola from Space Jam. Probably the hottest TuneSquad you would ever see. KB (Nicol) went as a pirate, and she was smoking hot. We danced, laughed, and screamed the night away. To top it all off, we all got a matching tramp stamp. Shhh... don't tell mom. It was definitely one crazy party.
Saturday, October 31st:
Happy Halloween! I honestly hate Halloween. I absolutely love holidays, and I love celebrating, but Halloween just does not do it for me. So... guess what we did?! Homework! Keaton and I kept it real easy. We did homework, went to the football game, shared a snow cone, and cooked a wonderful stir fry dinner. So yes, we were are lame and stayed in our PJs Halloween night... but did I care? Not for a second. I would choose dinner dates with K-Town every night.
Monday, November 2nd:
Happy Dia de Los Muertos!! KB and I celebrated our hearts out and made sugar skulls, ate good bread, and embraced the spanish side of us for a whole day. Isn't it funny that I celebrated Day of the Dead more than Halloween? I think so.
Tuesday, November 3rd:
"When in doubt, Miley it out!" I wore Miley buns and probably listened to Miley and danced all day. But I got the best of both worlds because WaffleLove was in town for the day, and Keaton is my boyfriend. That meant date night, and oh my goodness it was heavenly. Food trucks are so overpriced, but so dreamy.
1. It snowed. FINALLY.
2. Keaton, KB and I got $5 burritos at Costa Vida. Perfect lunch spent with perfect company.
Friday, November 6th:
TDunc came to town!! Sometimes its weird to me that we are at an age where we go visit each other because we live in completely different places. Although I wouldn't change a single second because I am so grateful for Torri, and for her friendship. I am so grateful I get to be stuck with her forever. Friday night we made a yummy dinner, finished up some homework and then partied. Keaton and I took TDunc to 2 Thousand Flushes. I think I have decided thats one of my favorite places here in Cedar.
This picture doesn't quite do justice of what really happened, so let me tell ya. It's November, so its freezing right? Well, that means nothing to these 2 crazies. So we jumped in the water and when I say jumped, they jumped, and Keaton practically threw me in. We froze our little butts off and then stood around the fire until we burned. It was absolutely freezing, but it was worth it.
Saturday, November 7th:
I believe one of my favorite things to do in this life is hike. And hiking with Torri is even better. We headed down to Zion National Park, and began our trek up Observation Point. It's kind of funny to be in Zion this time of year. Everyone come bundled head to toe, and Torri and I walk around with shorts and tank, so many funny stares. But it was absolutely beautiful. A perfect hike, with a perfect lady. I am so grateful we have a father and mother who taught us to love the outdoors, and each other.
I sure do love my Torri, and every second spent with her.
This past week has been absolutely insane. It's crazy that I finish my first semester in less than a month!! So after a long, busy week Friday, November 13th was needed.
After an exhausting and upsetting day of tests, Keaton and I cried for maybe like a minute and sucked it up and made a wonderful little night out of it. We went and bought food to make dinner, and cooked ourselves a real good meal of Chicken Alfredo. We had a little picnic on my floor, drank Martenelli's and played some cute, romantic music. We just ate and talked and laughed. And then we danced, and it was cute and dreamy. Definitely better than the movies. I believe that I am one lucky girl.
Saturday, November 14th:
There is never a dull a moment when you choose adventure. That is exactly what Keaton and I did. Saturday afternoon, we packed up some sandwiches, snacks and water and headed for Cedar Mountain. We had high hopes of hiking to the "C" up on the mountain. However, things got a little bit funny. First, I thought that the hike was 4.5 miles round trip, but false. It was 4.5 miles up, and then 4.5 down. Second, we started our hike at like 4:30 and sunset is at 5:30. So, Keaton being the thinker that he is brought his headlamp because our hike was soon to be a night hike. So, we hiked and had a couple snowball fights and watched the sunset. It was like all of my favorite things in one single memory, and it was magical.
As the sun went down, Keaton pulled out his handy little head lamp, but guess what? It was dead! HA! So we kept hiking up in the dark for a little bit longer. By this point, we are a little cold, tired, and well we could hardly see a dang thing. So, after what my watch said had been 4.5 miles, we looked up and still seemed to be miles and miles from the "C". We looked at each other and knew there was no way we are going to make it. So we sat and ate our sandwiches. We were quite confused on where we were and where we missed the trail. We quickly and literally ran back down the mountain and back to the car. We didn't make it to the "C", but we made it back alive and still enjoyed every second of it. So that's what matters.
Sunday, November 15th:
The past several weeks have been so lovely. I am so grateful to be where I am and to be surrounded by such good people. This past week for Institute, we had the chance to read the parable of the Prodigal Son. In Luke 15:4 it reads,
"What man of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them doth he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?"
Our purpose here in this life is to return to live with Him and to prepare to meet God. We have about million other things going on in our lives. There's family, friends, school, tests, callings, laundry, etc. We are faced with trial after trial and our faith is constantly being tested. But listen, "leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness" and focus on the one. Focus on the only one. Focus on who we are, who we must become, and who the Lord needs us to be. Most importantly, focus on returning to live with our Savior. We will face failures, temptations, heartache, and pain. Some days, we might feel as though we can't go anymore, or that we are never as good as we want to be. But I believe, and I know that at the end of everyday, the most important thing we can do every day in this life is prepare ourselves, and become the best we can be so that we can return to live with Him. If it's not something that will bring us closer to God, than it is NOT worth it.
I want to be the best that I can be so when the time comes, I can worthily enter the temple and become the best person for myself, for my husband, and for my family. Most of all, I want to be the best that I can be for Him. We are the captains of our souls, and we are responsible for our covenants, our actions, our eyes, our hands, and our hearts. We must constantly be practicing who we want to become and who the Lord needs us to become. We must continue on the road back home to our Savior. It may be the road less traveled, but it is the ONLY road paved with happiness and fulfillment.
I know that my Savior lives, and I know that He loves me. I know that as we keep our eternal focus in mind, and always remember what matters most, than life becomes a whole lot more manageable. In fact, I believe life becomes worth enduring, and worth enjoying.
I cannot wait to enter the temple, and to make those sacred covenants with my Savior. I cannot wait to get married, and to start a family. I cannot wait for the day when I get to fall down at my Savior's feet, knowing that my journey here on earth is over and that I did all that I was sent here to do. I cannot wait for the day when I get to live with Him forever.
I hope and pray that we can all forget the 99 and focus on one. Focus on Him.
xoxo,
ellie d.
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