"the sixties called....they want their clothes back"

"treasures" from mom's closet:

how do i look...?

lol

bubs says it looks like i popped out of the old church movies. hence, the phone call. :p he's a dork.

i gutted a fish

caption contest

evan took it. he was proud of it.

he liked it so much he wanted me to post it.

give it a caption...lets see whatchu got.

best one wins. :)

Your Happily Ever After

i was looking through conference talks and this one stood out to me. the title was catchy so it caught my eye. plus, im definitely a fan of fairy tales and happy endings. i believe in them. :)

i was curious to see what it said so i read it. and here are two of my favorite quotes from the talk.

“Happily ever after” is not something found only in fairy tales. You can

have it! It is available for you!

see? even president uchtdorf believes in happily ever afters! :) and the other one,

My dear young sisters, you need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength.

It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.

isnt that profound? i thought so.

im excited for my own happily ever after. now i just gotta find my prince charming. :)

paradise

i know its not the best quality, but you get the picture, right? sometimes i forget that i am from such a beautiful place...i take it for granted. its normal to me. its not paradise--its home.

but i was wrong. now i realize it really is more than just Home.

it IS Paradise!

today i listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. i smelt the saltiness of the spray. and i admired the moonlight reflecting off the water.

it was great.

family dinner

one of the joys of being at home: family dinner.

mom concocted a chicken enchilada casserole

and the kids devoured it.

it was yummy. :)

i appreciate that my parents raised us to eat dinner as a family. this is something i want for my own kids. ive decided that this will be a priority.

thats all.

home sweet home

i spent most of the day traveling...

cam and josue dropped me off at the airport and i ran into eva (on her way to china with living legends)! what are the chances of that happening!? i got to say goodbye one more time. :) it made me happy.

i got settled at my gate a good hour and a half before departure so i had a lot of time to kill. about twenty minutes before we boarded i got a call from amy! she was in the airport, waiting for her flight to LA for camille's wedding. so she came and found me and we chatted til i boarded.

it was so nice to see people i know in the airport. :)

my flight to LA was good. i sat next to an elder, heading for tahiti! he's been in the mtc for TWELVE weeks, learning both french and tahitian, so he was pretty excited to be out in the real world. i will be in his shoes very very soon!

the flight to lihue was fine...kinda bumpy but not full at all, so i got the whole row to myself. i slept and read and ate snacks, and watched parts of the young victoria. the time passed relatively quickly.

but this was a long awaited sight:

HOME SWEET HOME

closure

today was my last day in provo. i spent the evening saying my goodbyes.

i said bye to steven and returned his guitar book. i hope he has a good life.

i said bye to jesse and gave him a copy of the scrapbook. he appreciated it.

i said bye to my roommates, jennie and candace, but im pretty sure ill see them again. it didnt feel like a forever goodbye.

i said bye to choco and thanked him, again, for his gift. he has a good heart and ive always appreciated his genuine friendship.

i said bye to cathy and got to see her new place. i feel good about where she's at right now. and i hope we can keep in touch.

i said bye to erwin, but only for a few weeks before i say goodbye again.

i said bye to john, who forgot he lives in 48. lol. i hope he finds a job so he doesnt have to be a bum.

and then i told meags that i felt closure. ive said my goodbyes, i feel good about leaving provo, and im ready for the next step. its been a great four years. but for some reason i dont feel like im leaving for good. theres a part of me that feels like ill be back. maybe i will, maybe i wont; we shall see.

but for now, im ready for the next chapter. next stop: minnesota!

lesson learned...the hard way

i was supposed to take the gre today.

it was already paid for and everything.

i was all set to take it from 2-6 this afternoon.

in lindon. but it didnt happen.

i missed it.

it was a pretty horrible experience.

and it made me very sad.

but i wont go into any details...

we'll just say that i learned my lesson.

the hard way.

the whole ordeal was very humbling.

it was like heavenly father was reminding me

that He is in charge.

and that He sets the rules and

we just have to obey.

i eventually came to terms with this.

i thought of what i did wrong.

i figured out how i can improve.

i determined to make those changes.

and i repented.

then i felt better.

it didnt change the fact that i lost $160.

it didnt change the fact the i have yet to take the gre.

it didnt change the fact that i have no idea when i will take it.

but i still felt better.

im not worried about it.

i trust that everything happens for a reason.

i trust that god is in control.

i trust that he will provide a way.

and i trust that everything will be okay.

convocation

today was part II of graduation: college convocations. id say that convocations are TEN TIMES better than commencement because you actually know the people you're graduating with. they've been in your classes, they know what you've been through, they accomplished it with you, they're your friends. so its more exciting and fun. we had to be there an hour early to check-in and get instructions so i had plenty of time to take pictures.

meet my fellow engineers...the ee graduating class of april 2010 (at least some of them):

this is brock. he's been a study buddy of mine for the past year. he's off to georgia tech to get his phd.

and here are more guys from the program.

the only thing i remember from the ceremony was that the keynote speaker talked about keeping the sabbath day holy. i liked it though, cuz im a stickler for sabbath day observance. i recommitted to always keep the sabbath day holy. so it was good. :)

here i am, walking across the stage, after the announcer guy COMPLETELY butchered my name. :p

and again, after receiving my "diploma."

jennie came, and im glad she could make it.

thanks for coming jennie! :)

and so did the fam.

and finally, rach treated us to lunch at the commons.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!

its official guys.

i graduated from college.

im done.

wow.

commencement

i graduated today.

it was great. :)

we stood in a really long line at the asb and walked from the parking lot all the way to the marriott.

we were greeted by president samuelson, elder christofferson, and a whole bunch of other people i didnt know.

there were six thousand and some odd people in my graduating class...thats a lot of people! so it took a long time for the processional to finish. my line got to walk down a cool backstage stairway.

and this was the view from the floor.

it was AWESOME.

i really enjoyed the ceremony itself. it was a little bit hard to concentrate cuz i was so distracted by everything that was going on around me: the teleprompter, the people, the novelty of graduating, the graduates, my cap that wouldnt stay on my head, the whole experience. but i did remember a few things:

the byu alumni guy talked about sticking it out til the double zeros. in other words, dont give up...hold out to the very end.

the student guy talked about the sun rising on our futures. it was very hopeful and encouraging. it made me excited for the mission and whatever else my future has is store.

elder christofferson talked about education, repentance/forgiveness, light and knowledge, family, and the celestial law. here's a pretty good summary i found online. BUT, this was my favorite part...this is what stood out to me most: Let your cap and gown point you to the infinitely greater robe and crown that await you in God's celestial realm.

beautiful. absolutely beautiful. :)

with all the people in the marriott it took a while to find the fam after the ceremony. but i eventually did.

the kauai family came,

the provo family came,

and a few friends came.

all in support of the two graduates.

it was a very happy day.

last one EVER

i got to campus at 8 to get in my last (and only) studying before my very last final. with all the craziness of previous finals, packing, moving, luis' scrapbook, etc, i just didnt have time to study much for this one. it was scheduled at 11 so i only had 3 hours. thats it.

it went by super fast. :S

i studied with brock and steven...two of my loyal study

buddies. and it was bitter-sweet. we studied and we

chatted and we got off-topic (as usual) and then we got back on track.

at one point josh stopped by for a few minutes

and steven asked "are you done?" (meaning done with finals) and josh

heard "are you dumb?" and was absolutely flabbergasted that steven

would ask such a rude question. the whole exchange, and especially the shock on josh's face, was so funny. lol.

we did the best we could in the 3 hours of studying that we had. we went over our five-minute quizzes, then our twenty-minute quizzes, then the check-list that comer gave us, and then it was time.

i wasnt ready. but i was so ready to be done.

just before our finals got passed out brock told me not to get emotional on him. :p i didnt. but i probably couldve if i was an emotional kinda person.

the final was brutal.

it TOTALLY killed me.

(im pretty sure i failed it.)

but thats okay....because

im done.

:)

not gonna miss it

today i took my last test in the testing center. i left feeling so drained--finals are exhausting! but i was relieved. no more testing center for me! :)

my affirmation

after my 485 final i met up with reggie to help him with his studying. he's an m-e but he's taking a required e-e class and every once in a while he'll call me up and ask for help with his homework. this time he was working on j-k flip-flops.

as we were wrapping up he asked if im gonna be around this coming fall so he could "bug me" with more questions...but i told him that i was graduating in three days, and would not be around (THREE DAYS!!!). he asked what my plans were and i told him about the mission and grad school.

then he looked at me as if i were CrAzY. he asked if i was sure i wanted to leave and risk forgetting my entire undergraduate career. he thought it was a waste...and that i should finish school first and do the mission after. but i was so sure of myself and i told him so. :) i basically said i didnt care if i forgot everything cuz i felt the mission was more important. the "fear" of forgetting everything after the mission is not gonna stop me. i know i'll be okay. if i forget everything ive ever learned then i'll just have to learn it all over again! no big deal. :)

by the way...

just in case you forgot,

i go home in exactly ONE WEEK!

and i report to the mtc in exactly ONE MONTH!

god provides

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

D&C 130: 20-21

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

3 Ne. 24: 10

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.

Spencer W. Kimball

after church today i went over to cyrena's house to try on some clothes. she recently returned home from her mission and had some missionary clothes she wanted to give away. at first i was worried that i wouldnt be able to fit anything cuz she looks smaller than me...but then i decided that i shouldnt worry. if i found anything that fit, good; if not, oh well.

when i got to her house she started pulling stuff out of her closet and the clothes just kept coming and coming! i tried on skirts and jackets and sweaters and blouses for a solid hour. and guess what? everything fit!!! i came away with more than enough!

it was amazing! it was a tender mercy! it was a miracle! i acquired more clothes in that one hour than in the 7 hours of shopping last wednesday. :) and all because god is kind. and he gives us laws so that we can receive the blessings. and then he places his children in our paths to watch over us and meet our needs. its true folks...god always provides!

the book of mormon IS true

Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

In addition to Joseph Smith, the Lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon. Their written testimonies are included herewith as “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” and “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.”

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10: 3-5.)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.

Intorduction, The Book of Mormon

time to say goodbye

tonight we made dinner for luis' parents:

chicken katsu with rice and mac salad.

they liked it a lot...especially cuz it wasnt greasy. :)

we had a good time.

we talked about fish and meal times and spicy sauce and peru and other things too.

his dad cracked jokes and was super comfortable.

it was our very last time to hang out with him.

the very first time we met him was march 3, 2009.

i cant believe its already been over a year!

im gonna miss those boys.

im gonna miss our weekly activities.

im gonna miss laughing at their ridiculousness.

i hope his next mentors take good care of him.

i hope they do fun things together.

i hope they get along with him and are good role models.

im glad i did this.

im glad it was luis.

and im glad it was jesse.

goodbye boys...but only for now. :)