Back to College BBQ!

So..this last weekend...I went down to Alpine, Utah to celebrate the "returning" to school..and we had a BLAST at the McEwen's house! There was lots of great food..and some old friends I haven't seen in a LONG time! Here are just some quick pictures..I hope you enjoy!

lol..so don't laugh too hard at the pictures of Kindsey and me...we were trying to get the worst possible pictures...and I'm pretty sure we succeeded...I'm digging all my chins!

We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down!

So today is Sunday, and I was doing some reading from the Conference Ensign from May 2009 and I read President Uchtdorf's talk, "We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down" that he gave during the Priesthood session. I totally recommend it to anyone! Some of my favorite quotes included:

• He begins by telling a story of a plane that crashed in the Florida Everglades about 36 years ago. The reason for the crash was that a light had failed to illuminate that would indicate whether or not the nose landing gear had extended successfully. In the process of investigating this lightbulb, the pilots "became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below...Everything was working properly- all except one thing: a single burned-out light-bulb...The malfunctioning lightbulb didn't cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most"


• "The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots but to everyone...Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience"


• "Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue"


• "What are the things that distract you from your duties or hinder you from magnifying your calling more diligently?"


• "We need balance in life."


• "We cannot and must not allow oursleves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most"


• "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down" (Nehemiah 6:3)


• "There is always room for improvement"


• "What could be accomplished in our personal lives, in our professional lives, in our families, in our wards and branches if we became true representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ"


• "It is easy to become distracted- to become focused on one burned-out lightbulb or the impolite acts of unkind people, whatever their motive may be"


• "God lives and is mindful of each one of us"

These are just a few of the quotes that I really liked...I really encourage you to read it...especially with all that each of us is going through at this time. I bare testimony that God loves each and everyone of us..and his Son, Jesus Christ, died for us so that we could have the Atonement in order to improve our own lives and become more like Him. I know that this church is true with all of my heart and I am so blessed to have it in my life.

Latest Projects

So today I got really bored and decided to take a trip to my favorite store: Porters. For those of you who don't know what Porter's is...it's the craft store here in Rexburg :). Umm...not exactly the best place to go when you're poor..because you end up spending money (YIKES!) haha. BUT...none the less..I still love it. I finally came up with some ideas for Elder Kevin Milne's birthday/homecoming present. He will be coming home on October 16th...and then will be heading up here for school in January. I am so freaking stoked! He is like my best friend and it is going to be great to have that up here at school again. Anyways...I started to make this board...which I'm hoping to turn in to a "Missionary" Bored...I'm looking for his official "Mission Pin" so I can attach it..and am hoping to get some more pictures from him to add to it. We'll see how it ends up coming..but hey..here are some pictures of its beginnings! :)

Letter from the Missionary!

So..today is Wednesday..and it's Kevin's P-day. I got an email from him with some pictures of what Elders do on P-day...and I thought I would share them..they're pretty funny and you'll get a good kick out of them! He also sent a picture of his bike tire from his email last week...which is a really neat story! In case you didn't get a chance..here it is:

"Fast and testimony meeting in the Washington DC 3rd ward is always an adventure. over 70% of the members are new converts to the church of only 5 years or less. there is always this sweet old lady that stands up every month to give her testimony. Sis. Mack is very old and loves to sing. Every month she gets up there and sings the same short song. "you got to stand your test and judgement, you got to stand it for yourself, nobody else, can stand it for you, you Got to stand, for yourself" She then will end with" No one can stand it for you, But Grandma is here to help, you father is here to help, your mother us here to help. You may stand it for yourself, but people are always there to help along the way." That was sunday, but let me tell you about yesterday. bed bugs, Seria and siteria, bike, Afican food.FUFU. In the afternoon, we had an appointment with a Less-active at his house. While teaching, My compantion saw a bug Crawl across his pant leg. He stood up to try and get it off...with lonts of bouncing and jumping and shaking the pants. When we lest I asked what that was all about. He said it was a bed Bug.(bed bug bite in the middle of the night and leave nasty little red bumps). Then we ended up finding a great family that was in need of help moving into the top floor of their new appartment. 10 flights of stairs, no problem. The we went on our way to a dinner appointment and locked our bikes up to a poll before we went in........(I know this is long but it will all come together in the end).....The food was Real African food and everything had to be eaten with our hands. Rice, beans, FUFU, the whole Shabang! That was a Mess but sure was good. After the appointment, we had a little surprize outside for us. Some one had tried to steal out bikes. I've already had that happen 2 times. This time they couldn't get it off the poll, so they decided to break my back tire. It is now in a "S" shape. I had to carry my bike back home 13 city blooks. now, on the way home, we ran into the family that we helped move in, and they stopped us and told us that they want us to come back. WHAT a blessing, If my bike would have been working, we would have been Riding down the hill too fast to have been stopped by them. So that was really cool. Now to end to story and pull everything together....Elder Mayfield and I woke up this morning to find small red bumps on our legs...I wonder where those came from.All in all, It was a good week. Today we went to the temple, then went the mall near the capital to play some Football with a bunch of elders!Well my time is up, I'll talk to you all later!

Love ya all.Kevin"

Hope ya'll are having a WONDERFUL day!

Movie Time!

So today I got off work and thought I would go to Wal-Mart and pick up a new movie to watch. For those of you who don't know...I love buying new movies. So I was looking at the cheap ones...and found this one for $9...and let me tell you..it was so worth it! I stayed at home and watched it and it was SO cute! I definately recomend it..and it's a movie that the entire family can watch together. It reminded me a lot of Raising Helen. So next time you are looking for some cheap entertainment..I recomend this movie!

Also! Some very exciting news! I have decided to take my next step in music..and am going to learn how to play the Violin! I found a GREAT deal on a Violin on ebay...for $45 I get a violin, the case, the bow, an extra set of strings, a tuner, and some free online lessons! I am SO excited! I have always wanted to learn..and it should arrive here in the next few days :) I will let ya'll know how it goes!

Happy Birthday Kade!

So this weekend was a lot of fun! I snuck down to see my parents down in Logan for a few days, and also headed down for Kade's 3rd Birthday! He has gotten so big!! It was really neat to see everyone and we had a blast! His two favorite presents I would have to say were his bike and his red wagon. What a CUTE kid!

Inspiring Quotes

So...to try and figure out this "blogging" thing..I thought I would try and add some of my favorite quotes! So! Here goes:

• Love is like playing the piano, first you must learn to play by the rules, then you forget the rules and play from your heart
• We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to love an imperfect person perfectly
• Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about getting out there and learning to dance in the rain
• Life is a Climb, but the view sure is great!
• Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game
• Being nice is like shaving: No matter how good of a job you do one day, you still have to wake up and do it again the next
• We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible. -Oscar Wilde
• There is no end in sight for the good you can do. Do you know it? You are just simple kids. You are not geniuses. I know that. But the work of the world isn't done be geniuses. It is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way...-President Gordon B. Hinckley
• You just have to do your very best with all the capability you have. You have to do your very best. And somehow, if you do that, God will open the way before you and the sun will shine, and your lives will be fruitful and you will accomplish great good in the world in which you take a part.-President Gordon B. Hinckley
• If you follow the Prophet you will end up where he is going
• People become stronger because we all have memories we can not forget
• There is nothing that prayer and chocolate can't handle -A Quote from a magnet on my fridge
• You know you're in Love when you can't sleep...because reality is finally better than your dreams. -Dr. Seuss
• Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around and shouting that he has been robbed. The fact of the matter is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride-President Gordon B. Hinckley
• Life is to be enjoyed, NOT endured!- President Gordon B. Hinckley
• The reason there are mountains is so that we can learn how to climb
• The greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith. If we desire more faith we must be more obedient.- Kevin W. Pearson
• Personal righteousness is a choice
• Live by faith not by fear!
• God doesn't give you the people you want; He gives you the people you NEED... to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be

These are just a few! I'm sure more shall come :)