Where are you Christmas?

Ally, Me, Chan, Brad, Kailey, and Sydney

As long as I could remember I have always been super excited for Christmas and the whole week before it I get all giggly and excited for it... This is the first Christmas where I am not and it makes me want to cry... I love having everyone home, most of the time. All of my nephews and nieces are as cute as can be! The have such a strong light in their eyes that I can't seem to get enough of! I love picking them up and giving them a big hug, seeing them smile, and try the little things. Ethan is learning how to walk, Gabby is learning to speak, and Jeff is trying to remember everyones names. I love hearing him say "Hey Caitlan! Caitlan, come here and see!" He is so excited about everything. Seeing them reminds me of the little things in life and how they truly are a gift. Being able to walk, talk, and remember my family and friends names are such a blessing. Thank you Heavenly Father!

We kind of made a mess...

Well this looks like a two day blog post. So today I just got back from volleyball and it was so much fun! I love playing sports and it was good to go out and play! I'm not sure what I am doing later today, but I know we are taking the little kids to the park soon and I am super excited about that! Also it is Christmas Eve today, which just makes the day great because that means we get to open presents tomorrow! I think I am starting to kind of feel the Christmas spirit! :-) However, I'm not too sure about it. I still feel like it felt more like Christmas when I was in Utah because it was cold there. These last few days in San Diego have been rainy, but today it is hot! Well hotter than normal.

Anyways Merry Christmas everyone!

PS Here are some picture of some friends and I building ginger bread trains on my birthday and from our ward Christmas party that Matt came with me on. It was such a fun, random, last minute date, but we had a lot of fun even if our "semi truck" looked really trashy. :-)

Our kind of truck We had fun at our ward Party Matt and I

Cleaning checks

So we passes yay!

Also today I found out I got a 100% on my third math test Wahoo! 170/170 it was great! Now I just have to study for my final! Yesterday I found out I just need to do two more extra assignments for my human development class and I will have an A, which mean I don't have to take the final! Yes! I am loving life. I just have two more finals to go and then San Diego, home sweet home I come. I am so excited for this Christmas because EVERYONE is going to be home!

PS I am also excited for tonight because we are going to Denny's and tomorrow is my birthday. I just love birthdays, being able to have a day where I feel special and loved by many of my friends and family.

Thanksgiving, mail, and finals around the corner

Thanksgiving this year I decided to not go home to San Diego and stay here with my sister, Stacee, and visit my close friends here in Utah. It was a lot of fun, but I realized on Sunday after thanksgiving, I really miss my family. I had a blast staying here and I loved it, but there is just something about being home.

My thanksgiving break actually started the Saturday before thanksgiving. I drove up to provo and went to the Oquirrh Mt. Temple with Heather. It was a really neat experience because I did my first family name there and it was the first time we went inside a temple together! I loved it! We went inside and it was a little snowy and when we came out there was a couple of inches!!! Then on Sunday we had a PQ reunion with all of our friends hosted by Cheryl Stapley. Seeing everyone again was so cool and we had a lot of fun chatting away.

On Monday and Tuesday I skipped school, which was good because Tuesday was canceled due to a blizzard we were supposed to get. Monday Stacee and I were kind of bums until around one. When we finally decided to get dressed we went and saw the seventh Harry Potter movie and then ate at Wingers after. (SOOOOO GOOOOD). Tuesday I did homework and spent the night at Amy's. Wednesday Amy made breakfast and I was able to meet her uncle and sister-in-law Emily better. We also were able to rake leaves which I found was a BLAST and we saw Tangled, which is now one of my favorite movies.

Wednesday night I came back to Stacee's and we left to the Aegerter's for Thanksgiving celebrations. I had a lot of fun! We played monopoly, ate a ton of food, saw Tangled (I told you I loved it), played a dice game called Greed (so much fun and addicting) made Christmas scenes and Benton had us sleep over till Friday. It was a lot of fun! I love the Aegerters and how they have become my Utah family. :-)

Stacee's birthday was on Thanksgiving so we celebrated on Friday. I surprised her with a birthday cake after she came home from dancing. She wanted me to go but unfortunately I had homework I still hadn't finished and I had a birthday cake to make her, I am so tricky. So when she came home (way later than we both thought) I had the candles lit perfectly so when she opened the door to her dark apartment they were glowing and I sang for her! It was AWESOME!

Saturday was the big Holy War game and unfortunately BYU lost by one point. It was a very sad day, but I had a lot of fun watching it with my roommate Whitney from last spring. Sunday I woke up to a big snow storm and had to drive back in it, which was kind of scary. We left around 11 so it wouldn't be dark and we got home safe and sound. When I got home, to my surprise, I had five letters in the mailbox! I couldn't have been more excited, it felt like Christmas already! I love getting mail!

Now I have been home for a week and have been super busy! Finals are in a week and I get to go home on the 17! I can't wait to go home, but actually taking all of my finals and finishing these last few assignments won't be too fun. It is just a good thing there is a great reward after I finish all of them! Well this was a long post, but I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and are enjoying the Christmas spirit!

Life keeps moving on

Life keeps moving on and there is nothing I can do to stop it. At times I feel this world is spinning faster than I handle. I miss when life was all about playing in the backyard, getting into messes my mom wished I wouldn't have found, soccer, kickball, and playing in the neighborhood until it got dark. Where my choices weren't a matter of life changing experiences.

Now my choices seem to be everything... Where to go to school, what guys to date, where my testimony stands/ how I can strength it, How to help bring other peoples spirits up while not letting it effect my own, how I need to enjoy my family every minute I am with them and not become easily frustrated (I know they love me and just want what is best for me), should I go on an LDS mission or continue with school/finding my husband, trying to keep my room clean, am I being the best example to the sisters in my ward and to my friends around me, etc.

Wow life just won't stop for anything. Good thing there are the little things in life that make me truly happy like... Letters from missionaries (I got one from Ryan and Jared this week), playing the guitar, drawing (I have a huge artistic side of me that I didn't know existed this year), taking photos, my niece and nephews, playing soccer, being surrounded by my friends here at Snow college, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and just so much more.

Here are some fun pictures from events that I have been up to lately.

What have I been up to lately...

Flowers are from Homecoming and they are still alive!!!

Well I am glad you are wondering. To tell you the truth I have been kind of busy. I am living the life of a mormon college student I guess, meaning I am not getting drunk every weekend by partying too much (which I LOVE!)

Actually I am going to write a side note about that. It is such a blessing to actually be able to remember the fun I am having and to remember what I did the night before without feeling horrible in the morning. I couldn't imagine how badly a hang over feels and never want to have one. It does not seem fun for me at all, so I'll pass on that thanks!

Me, Karen (my roommate from last year, and Angela (roommate for life)

Okay back to the life of Caitlan... well what have I been up to... this last weekend I went to Arizona with about 50 crazy Rowdy Crowd (student cheering section for Snow's sports) and the cheerleaders. It was so much fun being in a bus with all of them for about 35 hours or so. haha Maybe not worth the trip since our team lots and the game was EXTREMELY SHORT, but hey it isn't all about winning right? Well I did that and had a blast. We left Saturday morning around 1:30AM and didn't return until Sunday at 7AM! Crazy and not the smartest idea I have had this year considering I had to teach the lesson in Relief Society and it was parents day. YIKES

Funny thing about parents day so yeah my parents couldn't come, which was sad but I just got to see them so not that sad. Anyways, so I got to church (and PS I was conducting too so it was a Caitlan show!) and started getting prayers assigned and the hymn numbers when I set down to quickly review my lesson... UNTIL I FREAKED OUT!!!! MY LESSON WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!!!! Ahhh not a good start haha. Turns out I left all of my notes at home except 6 pieces of paper that had quotes on them so what did I do. YUP I did a whole lesson on 6 questions and it didn't turn out half bad. :-)

On the bus ride we stopped in Vegas and these are the cool kids I was able to sit next to the whole time on the bus!

Then Monday and Today I have been studying like no other and I have taken two test go me! :-) I think I did really good on them too which is always a plus! I also have another test this week and a report due on Thursday, but that is school for you. I am also trying to play catch up in math which is not so fun. I really have not been able to focus on doing my homework in that class and have been slacking BIG TIME, which needs to stop now! Okay deal!

Well that is my life for now, oh and I played a really fun soccer game today and meet with the bishop. Being in the Relief Society Presidency has been such a blessing for me. I love it so much! Each girl I get to know better in our ward has made such an impact on my life. IT IS SERIOUSLY THE BEST! I love how many relationships I have been able to develop. Well this was a much longer blog then I excepted. Hope you enjoyed it who ever actually reads this.

Going back

This past week my school had both Thursday and Friday off, which was such a blessing for me. I love school, but it is always nice to have a break. Lately my mom has been dealing with a lot of medical stuff and needless to say I have been stressed out from it! I know I shouldn't stress about it because it has nothing to deal with me and my body and my mom is alright, but I worry about her. I mean after all she is and always will be a huge part of my life.

Anyways I decided Wednesday morning at 10 to drive back to San Diego. I couldn't handle being away anymore, even though my parents told me I couldn't come. Sometimes you just have to disobey right? Well I thought it was a good idea. So I told my friend, Camille, that I was going and she said I am coming with you and we left for San Diego that day around four.

We were able to stay at her uncle's house in St. George that night so we didn't have to drive all the way, which was such a blessing! Then we drove the rest of the way to San Diego Thursday morning.

Keep in mind my parents still had no idea that I was coming. So when we arrived on my doorstep with flowers for my mom they were all shocked! It was great!

My mom's first words to me when she opened the door "Oh you little Terd!"

Brett was half asleep when I first talked to him because he came home early from school due to a migraine, but when he was awake his first words were "It wasn't a dream"! He also had a huge smile on his face!

My dad's first words were "What are you doing here?!" Haha I loved it!~

Anyways so we got there and my family I think loved having me home. They were very very nice to Camille and I and paid for a lot of things while we were down there including tickets and a pass for me to SeaWorld (One of my favorite places!)

We had a ton of fun and it was one of Camille's first times in San Diego that she could remember! We went to the San Diego temple, the beach, Sea World, and to a couple of the local food places like In-N-Out and Pat& Oscars! Yummy!

Overall I had a great time and really don't want to be back here at school, but I am so grateful for the blessing of family and that they didn't kill me for coming and visiting with a friend without telling them!

Oh the Places I go...

(Geeked Out Dance)

I love college and all of the adventures from this year!

So far I have been having a ton of fun with my roommates and my ward! I got called to be the first councilor in the Relief Society and I think that calling is helping me more than the people I am supposed to be serving. One day decided to go upstairs to one of the girls apartments in my ward and now two weeks later they are my best friends. What a blessing it has been for me too! These girls are such a support to me and are a ton of fun. (temple trip with Samie and Shannon).

I have really become close with Shannon and Samie, two of the girls in that apartment. This weekend almost everyone is gone for conference and I can't wait tell they get home. It is has been nice not to have everyone here, but also kind of sad. (Our shoes before church)

Also this weekend I was able to have Stacee and Jeff come down. It has been fun having them here although I don't think Stacee likes it too much because it is such a small town. Good thing conference was able to keep us from being really bored. I loved conference speaking about it! Each talk really touched me and I can't wait for the Ensign and for the talks to come online so I can watch/read them again. Also I need to watch Saturday afternoon's talks because after the first speaker I couldn't keep my eyes open!

(Boating with three of the guys from across the hall)

What other fun stuff have I been up to... lets see here we went boating, to a geek dance,ad a couple fires up the mountain, spent time with our neighbors, and so many other fun random thing all with my roommates.

Oh and I started a soccer team and we are 2-0!!!! Woot! I love our team name too (CYA LATER)!!! I LOVE Snow!

(Western Swing)