back in action

My goodness it's been a very long time since I've blogged over here... about a year and a half, if we're getting specific! Now that I'm home from my mission I decided I wanted to get back to documenting my comings and goings. So with a blog makeover from the lovely Miss Candace, I'm ready to go.

It's been a busy, unexpected, bittersweet, ridiculous six months since I got home, but I'm facing forward and looking forward to the next six months until I move back to Idaho, starting with tomorrow... In the morning I have a job interview that I'm super excited about (good vibes please) so while I'm picking out the perfect outfit to woo my potential soon-to-be employer, I'm crossing my fingers that it goes well! And then Chris and I will maybe be able to squeeze in a day date before I have to be at work (I build bears for little cuties).

So here's to a resurrected blog, new jobs, and hoping the rest of the week zooms by. I've got an exciting weekend planned :)

hasta luego, mis amores

well lovelies, i'm off to do bigger and better things. i won't post over here anymore until march of 2014 when i get home. buuuuuuut, for those of you who would like to keep up with what's going on in my life, you're welcome to follow my missionary adventures right over here, where my mom will be posting my weekly emails home. i'm so excited about this work i'm headed to do. i appreciate all the love, support, and encouragement i've felt from my family and friends in the weeks/months/years leading up to this big time in my life. i'm going to miss you all! until we meet again. xoxo.

last instagram dump until 2014

from left to right, top to bottom

[1] i wish growing out my bangs wasn't such a dang process, its taking forevs

[2] on my last night of work my mum came in and gave me basically a million dollars

[3] i've dropped this phone a thousand times and this was the time it chose to shatter the screen. i'd like to thank it for its thoughtful timing though. i don't need a phone for too much longer!

[4] one of the last few kentucky sunsets i'll see, and so preeeeetty

[5] boyfriend took me to shogun last week and it was so tasty

[6] jimmy johns has thee funniest signs, i could stay in there and look at them all day

[7] the fam went to roadhouse the other night and just got appetizers and desserts (the cheesecake is my fave)

[8] hadley and me on her last "first day of school" dinner

[9] eight hours in a car with four other people will do somethin to you...

[10] "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" is all that comes to mind

[11] encouraging texts from idaho cory

[12] it isn't a trip to kansas without a walk down memory lane

[13] sister black sent me the sweetest note after i gave my farewell talk

[14] orange leaf date with our favorite couple

[15] we spend our days with bubbles and coloring books, so what?

[16] hotel beds >

one week

today i enter my last week as a non-missionary. on sunday my stake president will set me apart as a  full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. from then on there will be no phone, twitter, facebook, blogger, instagram, skype, movies, music, dating, swimming, working, or life as i know it for the next year and a half. on monday i will fly to utah, with my mom as my first companion, to spend some time with family and friends before i report to the mtc on wednesday. it's so strange that the day is finally coming, and it's coming this week! i can't believe it's been eight long months since i decided i was going to move home and prepare to serve a mission. i cannot accurately describe to you how badly i want to get out of here and go to work. it's literally all i can think about and i'm so unbelievably ready to begin this next chapter of my life.

in other news, we spent the weekend in kansas city for my stepdad's stepdad's (don't get confused) funeral. it was a nice service with lots of family on his side and my stepdad's mom's side as well. i was just happy we got to be there to support her. she's an incredible woman and took such great care of him. it was also nice to be able to spend a few unexpected days with my little family of 5.

well loves, i'm off to enjoy labor day festivities, which include, but are not limited to: laundry, packing, cleaning, swimming (if the weather will allow) and hopefully some downtown louisville.

kiss your loved ones - you don't know how long you have them!

winding down

it's so strange to think that in less than a month i'll be a missionary. a real live name badge wearing, book of mormon carrying, spanish speaking, investigator loving missionary. i have been waiting on this for what seems like sooooooo loooooong. but it's getting more and more real with every day. last sunday i gave my farewell talk, and then a week from this next sunday i get set apart. i'll fly to utah on monday, spend tuesday with my family, and then wednesday i'm off! my last days at both jobs were this weekend, so i'm dedicating the next two weeks to final preparations and getting in missionary mode. i plan on spending lots of time at the temple, time reading and studying the scriptures and preach my gospel, and cherishing every moment with my family. i'm so so thankful it's almost here! i don't think i could wait any longer. and as sad/nervous/anxious/ as i sometimes feel, the excitement/certainty/eagerness i'm feeling is a thousand times more.

speaking of heat

i hate being hot. i hate it so much and cannot wait til summer is over. on wednesday i went to king's island (a theme park in cincinnati) with some friends. of course we chose the hottest day of the week to go and tried to pretend we weren't miserable in the 100+ degree weather. on the flip side, the last two days have been utterly beautiful outside. by utterly beautiful, i obviously mean 75 and breezy. it feels like love and it's making me super excited about fall.

speaking of fall, this will be the first fall that i haven't been in rexburg since i graduated high school. in case you can't count, that's three years. it's going to be really strange not going school supply shopping, carving pumpkins, kicking leaves on the way to class, and wearing hoodies and jeans everyday. but i'm thinking fall in spain could be pretty nice too, ya know?

speaking of spain, i'm finally prepared. in terms of readiness. i have everything i need in order to head off to the mtc. and that freaks me out. i still haven't been able to shake the feeling of nervousness that i've had for the last couple weeks. i wish it would go away. but i feel like nerves come with every big change in life. i feel like it's okay to feel this way. i would just like some reassurance that it is.

speaking of changes, i'm going to miss so much while i'm gone. i'm going to miss my brother and sister's senior year of high school, their senior prom, their graduation, and their first year of college. as a big sister, that makes me so sad. a year and a half is a long time to be gone. i don't wanna miss all the good stuff! but it'll be so fantastic living with my baby sister in provo when i get home.

speaking of home, i like being here. i was really skeptical of living in louisville. moving in, i didn't know anybody here besides my family. i was bummed about living somewhere for 6 months without a single friend and nothing to do. but i've really liked being here, a lot. i've enjoyed the extra time i've had with my family. i've enjoyed working at texas roadhouse where it all started (even though i miss my idaho falls roadies) and i've enjoyed meeting new people and having friends to hang out with to pass the free time i have. i don't think kentucky will ever really be home to me, but if home is where the heart is, home is here for now.

in a word, or two, or five

it's august. that simple fact completely blows my mind. like didn't i just move home? no, that was in february. didn't i just turn 21 and submit my papers? no, that was in march. and all the sudden now it's august and i'm going on my mission  next month. 

in the beginning of this whole process, the best word to describe how i felt would've been excited. getting my call was pretty special, shopping for mission clothes was fun, renewing my passport and applying for a visa was stressful and all this waiting and working has been tiring. and now, though i'm still so incredibly excited, i'm starting to get nervous. parts of me feel inadequate and incapable and like i'm way in over my head. i hope that's a normal thing to feel. i'm anxious about the mtc because i've heard it's definitely not a favorite part of returned missionaries' mission experiences. i'm scared that i won't do, or be, or say the right things. i'm worried that maybe the advanced language class the language coordinator put me in will be too hard. i'm concerned my visa won't get to the mtc in time and i'll be stuck in there forever. i'm overwhelmed.

today my apostille for spain came in the mail and the thought of living there for 18 months became more real than it has ever been. 

this is happening. it's really happening. and it's happening next month.