Perfectly and Incandescently Happy*

*Note to the Reader: This post is not for the weak of stomach or the realist at heart. Nor is this a post for those with a sensitive gag reflex or for those who may be allergic to cheese. You have been forewarned.

I've been asked by a couple of people to make sure and dedicate a blog to this certain subject, so here it is folks:

He's home.

Two years is (finally) up and the love of my life has finally come home. Thank. Freakin. Goodness. I'm not exactly sure what to write in this blog cause I don't think that words could ever adequately describe how hard and life changing these past two years have been and how wonderful and right it feels to have Braedon home. But I'll give it a try.

So, for those of you that don't know, Braedon served his mission in St. Louis Missouri and last week on Sept. 25th his family drove down to pick him up and spend a week touring his mission and visiting families down in Missouri. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little sad that I wasn't able to see him for an extra week, but he at least had a cell phone at that point so we could talk and text whenever we where free, so I wasn't too upset about the extra week. Also as part of the trip they were going to stop in Moab on the way home for about a day and a half. So about two months ago me and his mom cooked up a little plan for me to drive down to Moab and surprise him by being there. We got permission from his Mission President and things where set to go.

So then comes Saturday October 3rd I met up with Braedon's grandma Renee (she seriously is one of the most awesome people ever) and we started our drive to Moab (at 7:30 in the morning). Now besides not taking the turn to the Spanish Fork Canyon and adding 150 miles to the trip, everything went wonderful. And the added hour or so to our drive turned out to be a blessing in disguise for many reasons. First we had radio reception the whole way so we were able to listen to General Conference, second I also had cell reception the whole time so I was able to keep texting Braedon pretending that I was at home, and third Braedon's family was running late (Braedon wanted to stay longer in Colorado, of course not knowing I was waiting for him in Moab) so the added hour to the trip made it so I didn't have to wait so long in the hotel, which might have driven me to insanity.

We arrive at the hotel and finally I get a text from Lori (Braedon's mom) saying they were just driving into town. Let the freak out begin. I had no idea how to handle the emotions and energy that was roaring through me. I am not what you would call a super emotional person or a "girly girl" for lack of a better word, but in that moment it was like all the emotional-ness (totally a word) that had been absent from my life decided that it would finally come crashing into my body. I couldn't stop moving. My hands where shaking. My heart was thumping. My mouth didn't know whether to smile or to scream. It. Was. Ridiculous. I never knew someone could feel so awful and so wonderful at the same time. Those 20 minutes seemed like that longest 20 minutes of my life.

So then, in come's Lori (almost giving me a heart attack) with the camera in hand, having claimed to the family that she was in dire need of the facilities so she had an excuse to run to the room, ready to get into position to record Braedon's reaction . I sit down on one of the beds, legs and heart both shaking faster (if that's even possible) then before. In walks Braedon's dad, then his three siblings, and then finally, finally he walks in. The next scene went a little something like this:

Braedon (dropping the bags he's had in hand): "What the freak!?"
Katie: "Hi."
Braedon: "What..."
Katie: "Surprise?"
Braedon: "Cheater!"
Katie: "No, no. I got permission from your pres."
Braedon (still with baffled expression in tow, it was quite a shock me being there): "....what.."
Katie: "So, are you gonna give me a hug or what?"

Which was preceded by Braedon coming over (rather quickly might I add) and giving me a huge hug that quite literally swept me off my feet. It was perfect. :)


Again, it's hard to put all that I felt into words, but the best way I can put it is that I felt whole, complete, safe, right, and wonderful. The hole in my heart that has been left gaping for the past two years was finally healed. He is finally home and I couldn't be happier.

Looking back on these last two years leaves me just about stunned. The things I've done, been through, and experienced is incredible to me. I feel like I have grown so much, maybe it's not as apparent to those on the outside, but that's how I feel. It was a hard and trying two years and while I would never want to do it again, I am grateful for it. It has made me who I am today, and I like who I am and where I am at in life. It was hard, but we did it. We made it. And I am extremely excited, a little nervous, and more then ready for this new chapter in my life to start.

I love Braedon with all my heart and can't think of a better man to have in my life. He is so caring, determined, supportive, respectful, stubborn, spiritual, dorky, loving, and simply amazing. He's someone I know I can always turn to, can talk to about anything, can laugh with, and can cry with.

I love him, more then I can ever express, and I am extremely happy and grateful that he is home and he is mine. :)

Random Musings of a Wandering Mind

So, once upon a time back in June I got a new phone. This new phone has a little place where you can put notes on it. I'm not really sure how, but somehow I started putting random thoughts and quotes into this note section. It's kind of funny to go back and read them, so I thought now that it's been a couple of months that I'd share a few of these with the blogging world and let you have a little look into my brain and life. Enjoy. :)

-I love Braedon Ashby Goudie. (Does it really surprise anyone that this is the first note I put in?)
-Sometimes, surprisingly enough, I just don't feel like talking.
-Mango is making it's way to the top of my favorite flavors list. Right there next to raspberry and peach. :)
-I loveth, less then three, and heart longboarding. :)
-Same goes for pie shakes. Mmmmm.
-I am perfectly okay with the slight fact that I am a Treky. :)
-I never want to take a stats class again. Ever. (This is particularly funny to me now, since I tutor stats haha)
-I really wish it was September (check that off the list!)
-"Hist whole head lights up like a Christmas tree!" - Clint
-I love laughing. Deal.
-I don't know how I feel about a stranger calling me "Super Star"... I don't think I like it...
-My hair sometimes looks like a Haystack. Like today for instance.
-"My friend, you've just been Lego resuscitated!" - Kurtis
-I love the joy that movement and dance brings to my life. :)
-"Stupdity is like nuclear power; it can be used for good or evil... and you don't ever want to get any on you." - Dilbert
-I love my Chucks. :)
-I kinda hate that my neck hurts constantly...
-"I think I pulled my laughing muscles" - Clint
-I have so many awesome people in my life. :)
-"Don't piss off the universe, the universe will slap you." - How I Met Your Mother
-I love Patrick Jane. Add him to the boyfriend list. ;)
-Seriously? Two kidney stones at age 21? Lame.
-I am a zombie killing queen.
-I should not be as excited as I am about the idea of going to the Library tomorrow. :)
-Why do stores like Forever 21 intimidate me?
-I love me a man in a vest. Mmmm. :)
-"Shut up you dumb choir punks! Santa's a drunk!" - Scrubs
-I still don't understand why I love Deadliest Catch so much.
-I loveth Jazz music. La sigh. :)
-I love love love Boy Meets World.
-If I'm ever in New York again I'm gonna make sure and watch out for any cab with the license N7N8. I wanna be on Cash Cab!
-Mmmmm... Jame Cullum, Michael Buble, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Harry Connick Jr. , Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra can all sing to me anytime they want. :)
-"Katie your dress!... and my quiver!" - Richard Marsh
-I don't think I could ever get sick of hearing the sound of waves crshing or thunder rolling. Sigh. :)
-"I'm sorry. He irks me. He's irksum." - Patrick Jane
-"Just because he thought it was an egg and sat on it, doesn't mean it's his!" - Ken
-I love the temple. Especially the Draper Temple. :)
-"Are you on fire!? You better be on fire!" - Gavin
-I love Scrabble. :) Lots and lots.
-One of my most favorite things about the weekend, is not having to set an alarm. :)
-"Ha! I'm a wrestler. Wrestlers don't get trampled." - Boy from the Bookstore
-Add Joseph Gordon Levitt to the boyfriend list too. ;)
-I want a memory foam bed. Mmmmm.
-"You have to treat 1050 students like kids. It's true! Some of them know nothing!" - Yingxian
-I love football.
-"Your menstrual cycle is ridiculous!" "Seriously, menstrual cycles are ridiculous. Who can bleed for 7 days straight and not die?" "ALIENS!" - Garrett, Me, and Alex
-I LOVE Matt & Kim!!!!! Love. :)
-"What? I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of me being awesome."
-Today I was told that I look like a teach or a librarian... I'm not sure what to do with that?
-Why are people so nice to me? What did/do I do to deserve such kindness?
-I think my backpack is trying to kill me...
-You know your life is too busy when going pee and eating is at the bottom of the priority list... sad.
-Seriously... rain shouldn't make me this happy. But it does. I love it. And I love Fall. :) Sigh. :)
-I also love The Biggest Loser.
-I'm so sick of probability jokes. Seriously. It wasn't that funny the first time... it's no funnier the 239928301th time.
-"You seem somewhat familiar... have I threatened you before?" - Jack Sparrow
-The fact that I keep going to bed without reading before hand is a testament of how tired I am at the end of the day. La sigh.
-I love Braedon. More and more. :)
-I also love my mom. She's pretty much the best mom ever. :)
-I don't care if it's 80 degree's outside... it's fall and I'm gonna wear a hoodie.
-I spread crazy like a two year old spreads germs.
-I hate being late. Hate it, hate it, hate it.
-Flogging Molly = Awesome night. Talking to Braedon afterwards = Even awesomer night. :)
-There is purpose to life, and it is a grand, glorious, and joyful purpose, designed by a loving God.
-Thank goodness it's October this weekend. :)

And there you have it. Besides all that madness going on, life is good. School and work and homework is keeping me more busy then I thought possible, but it will all be worth it in the long run, and I really am loving my job and learning new things. :)

Also, for those that don't know and may want to (which I doubt there are many, if any of those reading this blog) I get to see Braedon this weekend. He's home. For good. I can't believe it... that I've really made it through these past two years... I'm glad for the experiences and who I've become, but thank goodness it's almost over. But I'll leave the rest of this topic for another blog on another day. :)

Till next time!

Stress Induced Suicide

So. I'm blogging. It's been about two months since I last blogged. So you think I would have something super exciting or important to report. Sadly, your thinking is wrong. But I suppose I have a few things I can talk about, so why not?

• First. School. No surprises there, right? School is basically about 75% or more of my life. Sad, but true. Good thing I kinda like school, huh? Especially since I just started Fall Semester! Or, at least, am in the process of starting Fall Semester. I have had one class today and now have a big long break (that will normally be filled with tutoring - more on that later) before my next class. What better way to fill that time, then talking about myself right? ;) Anywho. This bullet isn't about Fall Semester though (I figure since school is around 75% of my life, it deserves at least two bullets), it's about Summer Semester, which went very well. I got an A in my stats class (good thing too or else I would have just up and quite school if I couldn't pull an A in that easy of a class) and a B in my Foundations of Analysis class. I'm very happy with both my grades. Analysis was a pretty tough class, and I'm glad I took in the summer so I didn't have loads of other classes along with it. Also something else I learned from Summer Semester, is I do not like 7:30 am classes. Especially when you have a 30-40 min commute. Pass.

• Fall Semester. I think I might just accidentally kill myself with stress. And even though that thought is somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm still pretty excited for the new semester. I know, I'm weird. Liking school is so out of style. But I'm used to being slash doing things out of style, so I'll deal. ;) Back to the killing myself with stress. I'm taking a very heavy load. In actuality it's only 12 credits, but 9 of those are upper math classes. Those math classes being: Intro to Probability, Foundations of Geometry (thought I got away from Geometry after 9th grade, but nope!), and Advance Calculus 1. Yup. Suicide by stress over dose. I'm also taking an online class - Business Law. Random I know. But I still am short on some upper division credits and the only pre-req for this class is English 1010, it can't be too bad, right? Hopefully. :) Now you may be asking, why the stress induced suicide? Well, I want to finish by this May, not next May. The only way to do that is to take these classes all at the same time. Yipee. Hopefully I can handle it. :)

• Next, is my new job! Woot! I applied and by some miracle was accepted to tutor in the Math Lab at UVU. Now you are thinking (do you like that I tell you what you are thinking all the time?), you're a Mathematics Major, why is you getting accepted as a Math Tutor such a miracle? Well I'll tell you. As part of the interviewing process, you have to take a 1050 math (or college algebra) test. It's been about 5 or so years since I last took college algebra, so while it isn't all that difficult, I only remembered about 56% of it. Why 56%? Because that's what I got on the test. Sad. So I wasn't expecting to get said job at all. But lucky for me, I'm so charming (obnoxious) and Kathy (the lady in charge that interviewed me) liked my interview and my way of tutoring. Also lucky for me, I happened to take Stats this summer and got an A and they desperately need people for the Stats Lab. So I will be working most of my hours in the Stats Lab, and a few others in the regular Math Lab. And I couldn't be more excited. This will look great on my resume and just be an all around good experience. :) I will also be working 10-12 hours a week at ELS (where I currently work, for those who where wondering) as well, so this semester is going to be chaos. :S

• Lastly I would like to talk about a certain day(s) that is coming up. For all of you that have sensitive ears to cheesiness, this would be the time to stop reading. Continue at your own peril. 31 days from today Braedon will be released and with his family touring St. Louis and his mission. So, in just 31 days, I will be able to hear his voice, text him all day, and talk to him whenever we can. 31 days folks. That's a month, in case you were wondering. And then only 8 days after that (that's 39 days for those not inclined to do math), I finally, finally, get to see him! Thank fricken goodness. I am so ready to be done with this whole, waiting/being-away-from-him deal. I'm finally letting myself be excited about it. And the level at which my excitement is at, is pretty dang high. :)

Annnnnd, I think that's about it folks. I'll let you know if I die from stress this semester. Or at least, someone will let you know. ;)

Until next time. Love, hugs, and ....rugs?

Reading--It's an addiction.

I would like to state that I Katie McLelland had a problem. I am a readaholic.

It's true. But let's face it, I've had this problem for a while (though I swear it's gotten worse over the years). Take for example this week. I was on the second book of a trilogy at the beginning of the week and finished up the third one on Tuesday. I then, wanting another book, didn't have time (or maybe the will to drive down the mountain) to go to the library. So I decided to just pick of book from my slightly limited collection (I'm a poor college student so buying books is a rarity for me.) and reread something. What to pick though? Pride and Prejudice? No. I just reread that a couple of months ago for the who knows what number of times. Mistborn? No. If I started rereading that I know I'd get sucked in and be even more antisocial then I already am, and I wanted something a little more light hearted. So what do I choose...? Twilight. Yup. You heard me. Twilight. I've already read this book I think 2, maybe 3, times in the past year or so. Ridiculous. Seriously. But I thought in my head "It's an easy read--perfect for in between library stops". And I've read it a few times already so I shouldn't get sucked in. I finished it in a day. Again. Even with school, work, homework, and So You Think You Can Dance to deal with. Seriously folks. Ridiculous. But I love it, as ridiculously 'teeny' and cheesy as it may be, I still love it. Though it does make my current situation, of waiting for my boyfriend, not one bit easier. La sigh. But I supposed I brought it on myself.

So since I finished Twilight so quickly I was still out of a book until I could get to the Library. Now most of you might be thinking, well just go a day or two with out a book. Sadly, I can't do that, cause as I stated at the beginning of this pointless rant, I am a readaholic (or a bookaholic if you will). So I, again, go to my collection in my closet--nothing really jumps out to me. So I go to my brothers collection in his closet. And try to think of something I haven't read too recently, when I spy it. At first I quickly looked away, but my eyes are drawn back to a certain book. I shudder on the inside that I am even considering the idea, but it was too late. I could already tell my mind had made itself up before I even knew what was happening. The Wheel of Time. 11 books long and 3 more to come, not even finished and so convoluted that no one knows where it's going. And on top of all that, the Author is now dead, so the remaining books are being finished by a different (though to be honest, in my opinion better) author. Really? This was the book my subconscious wanted to read? These books that have already taken so much of my reading time (I've read book 1 through 9 around 3 times already--don't ask me why)? Now don't get me wrong, I do like this series (Minus book 10. Death to book 10), or else I wouldn't be reading it again. This was actually the series (apart from Lord of the Rings) that got me into my fantasy reading. But still, I think I'm crazy. Sigh. I keep telling myself that I'm just going to reread the first one, but I'm not sure how that really will go...

So I am here today, to admit to myself and to the blogging world, that I Katie Lynn McLelland, am a ridiculous person and a horribly addicted reader. But--I love every minute of insanity, so what'cha gonna do? ;)

Till next time. :)

So. Freaking. Delicious.

So lately in life I've be even more obsessed with the Food Network Channel then normal. And for some reason I've seen a lot of talk shows with Bobby Flay on them, and he is always making the most amazing looking burgers. That man can grill! So after seeing all these amazing burgers on TV, I decided that for this memorial day I wanted to have a good BBQ. So I started to confer with my brother in law Tom and we made up some plans.

So when memorial day came along and it was time to start the cooking this is what we did. First we of course got all the good stuff to put on the burger. Tomatoe, lettuce, bacon, guacamole, pepper jack cheese, etc... Mmmmm, burgers. Then Tom, with the help of Ryan and his awesome fryer, made homemade onion rings.

So freaking delicious. Seriously they were some of the best onion rings I've ever had, they were especially good on top of the burger. Mmmmm. Way to go Tom. :)

Then we also had the grilled fruit. I have done grilled pineapple before, but decided this time to also try peaches. And oh boy were they divine. So. Freaking. Delicious. We put a little lemon juice on them and then sprinkled some brown sugar on top and plopped them on the grill.

I think they turned out really well. :) And then to top off everything we had some roasted marshmallows and cookies for dessert. Perfect.

All in all it was a great day spent with the family! I have the best family in the world and I'm so lucky to have them in my life!

Anywho. Hopefully you all had a great break as well!

Until next time! :)

Dance Photo Shoot

So in a post awhile back I talked about my sister's upcoming dance concert in July and how I was going to be taking the pictures for her for the posters and such. Well we had the photo shoot! It was a blast to work with all the dancers, they are such a fun group and so full of life. It was also fun to take pictures of movement for a change. All in all I think we got some good shots (we better since I took over 700 pictures) and thought I'd share some of them with you.

I realize that if anyone actually DOES read this blog, they are probably my facebook friend, so you probably have already seen these since they are all on there (I have yet to get ALL of the pictures from Robin so they are the same ones). But just in case I have some blog stalker out there that I don't happen to be facebook friends with , here they are:












The poster my sister made.

That's all for now folks! Go outside and play, run, move, and dance in the sun, it's good for the soul! :)

Mahna, Mahna.

I have this song stuck in my head:



Gotta love the muppets. :)

On another note, I haven't blogged for awhile. What else is new, right? So I thought while I was here spreading muppet joy, I'd give a little update on my life for those who actually read this blog (which very well likely is no one).

Finals are over. Halle-frickin-lujah. I'm still waiting to hear about my grades, which is super bothersom. But I think they all went well, so hopefully I pass them all! Either way it's been super nice to have a few days off to relax and more importantly let my brain recuperate after it's over-use the past few weeks. Sad news though is that I start school again... tomorrow (yippee). Worse news is that I have a class at 7:30 in the morning, which means I have to leave my house around 6:30. Three days a week. Even worser (it's a word I swear, says the math major) is half the class is taught by my lovely ODE teacher, Jun 'Michael' Ling. And when I say lovely, I mean spastic, horrible and hard to understand. Fabulous. But one up is that the other half of the class is taught by my favorite teacher that I've had so far in my college experience, so hopefully that will make up for it. I'm also going to be taking another class at 5:30. It's the latest class I've ever taken and I'm already not looking forward to it. It's called 'Statistics for Behavioral Science' it's a psychology class, and the only reason I'm taking it is cause it's an upper division course and I need some more upper division credits. I'm not really worried about it. In fact I'm hoping that attendance isn't part of the grade cause I have a feeling that this will be one of those classes that's pointless to actually show up for the lecture. Especially since I've gotten really good at learning from a book (thanks for something Dr. Ling). So we'll see how that goes.

In other news, I'm looking for a job. Again with the yippee. With my weird schedule with school driving back and forth from Orem to Midvale and the fact that I can only get around 20 hours a week at my current job, is just not gonna work out so well. Especially since my schedule gets more crazy in the fall. So I'm searching for jobs somewhere in the Utah Valley, and at this point I'll take almost anything that is full time and pays at least 10 dollars an hour. So if you see anything, or hear of anything, let me know!

So let's see, what else is new in the life of Katie? I'm still MC-ing (emceeing?), for And...Go! and loving every minute of it. It's such a fun, positive, non-dramatic, hilarious, awesome group. Seriously guys. And surprisingly enough I've found out that I love to MC (emcee?). Hopefully I'm decent enough at it that they'll keep me around for the long haul. :) Also in And...Go! news, we have a new Web Site, done by our very own Clint! It's www.andgoimprov.com go check it out! We've been doing a ton of performances lately and most of them are free, so (warning: shameless plug) if you want something fun to do over a weekend (it would be a fun date night!) check out the website, or our blog (andgoimprov.blogspot.com) or just ask me and I'll keep you posted on upcoming shows! :)

Something else happy, for those that care, is Braedon only has 5 months left. :) I'm extremely ready for him to be home. Hopefully with doing school during the summer these last few months will go by fast. Sigh. I love him and I don't care how cheesy that is or who knows it. :)

Welp, I guess that's it for now. :) Peace out, rock on, and shoe laces. :)

Life As I Know It

So, I need to be a better blogger. Yes? Yes.

Life is going good. Really it is! It's been busy like always... school and homework keep me occupied most of the time, but one day I'll be done with school (Hopefully next Spring! Yay!!!) and all this hard work and long days filled with studying will pay off. :) And in the mean time, I still love Math, so that's a good thing! :)

On to other news of my life! (I know it's surprising that I even have other news about me besides school! But don't worry... there isn't a ton else. ;))

I've started to MC for a local Improv Troup called 'And... Go!'. It's been a lot of fun to go to the practices and get to know the group better. They are some funny guys! For those of you that don't know what improv is it's like the show 'Who's Line Is It Anyways', or 'Laughing Stock', it's very funny, at least in my opinion haha. And we have a performance this Saturday if you want to come and watch! And best of all, it's free! Lets be honest, we are all struggling with money these days and looking for fun stuff to do for cheap, well what's cheaper then free! So come on down to the performance this Saturday (March 28th) at 7:00 pm at the LDS Chapel on 365 East and Vine St. in Murray. For more info go HERE. It should be fun, you know you wanna come! :)

Something else exciting is Braedon comes home in 6 months! :) Yay!! Though that still seems like forever sometimes... but at least there is a little light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a crazy year and a half while he's been gone and I can't wait to have him home. :) Sigh. I miss him. :)

And, while I know this is a way's off I'm still excited about it. My wonderful beautiful and talented sister is having a dance concert in July at the Rose Wagner! It should be an awesome concert! And she has asked me to take the pictures for all their posters and what not! I'm so excited! I love taking pictures and it will be fun to add some different stuff to my 'portfolio'. I'm not sure when we will be doing the shoot, but I'll post some pictures when we do! :)

Annnnd... I guess that's all for now! :) Life is good and it somehow finds a way to keep going even when it's not. I hope all of you are well out there in blogger land! Till next time! :)

Factoids

I did this for facebook cause I was bored, and thought I'd post it here too. 25 random facts, habits, thoughts about me. :)


1. I have three main facts/rules about myself (okay I'm sure their are more, but for now just the 3).

2. Fact number 1, Katie always wins, or it's at least ties.

3. Fact number 2, Katie will laugh, a lot of times at herself or at you. ;)

4. Fact number 3, Katie will go to bed early whenever possible. :)

5. I work at a computer, and get bored a lot, so really I'm not a TV junkie, I'm an internet show junkie.

6. I love the song 'Lovebug' by the Jonas Brothers. Don't you judge me.

7. I say that I have a slight 'Lesbian' crush on Hayley Williams from Paramore, but I really don't, it's more of a 'jealous that you are in an awesome rock band and can sing like that' crush.

8. I love to read. I am the epitome of a book worm if you will. Honestly if I could I would be reading all the time. Always.

9. I have feelings, struggles, pains too (shocker I know, but it's true), even though I may have a hard time talking about them.

10. This one time, I are armpit hair. Yup, it's true. My cousin's infact. I didn't enjoy it, it was quite nasty actually but I won tons of free stuff, so deal with it.

11. I love Moab. So much. If I HAD to pick one place to vacation for the rest of life, I would probably pick Moab.

12. I always have candy in my purse. Once I was at a performance and a man sitting behind me had diabetes and was going low, my candy saved his life. Okay so it didn't SAVE his life, but it helped him. :)

13. I always have a book in my purse. You never know when you might get some reading time (see number 8)

14. I enjoy school. Yup, I said it. While it may stress me out and I have my days where I'd rather not be there, I really do enjoy it, and sometimes even enjoy homework.

15. I love math. (see 14)

16. I have one of, if not THE best family in the whole world. I love them, all of them. :)

17. I talk to Chelsea almost 24/7. Literally. We talk alot. About nothing, and everything.

18. I have a dream, almost EVERY night. They are more creative then I actually am, and extremely detailed. Seriously, I'm even thinking about writing them down and making a book of short stories. Ask me to tell you one sometime.

19. I will almost ALWAYS be early. Even when I try to not be early, I still am, but just 5 mins early instead of 10. It's a sickness I swear.

20. I love potatoes. In any form. Hash browns, mash potatoes, cheesy potatoes, funeral potatoes, potato chips, fried potatoes. Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes.

21. I've seen the movie Clue too many times to count and I can quote it pretty much word for word at this point. Sad? Maybe. True? Very.

22. One day, I WILL go to Ireland. Just you watch me.

23. I would never trade the experiences that I've had, even though some of them where really hard. They have made me who I am today, and I kinda like me. ;)

24. I was social from birth apparently. When I was little I would go up to strangers and start talking to them and wanted to be friends with them. Apparently my mom was always afraid I would get kidnapped. Haha.

25. I AM worth it. :)

Keep on rockin.

Till We Meet Again.

Wow, this has been a long week. For those of you who don't know, my amazing Uncle Mike passed away this past Sunday very suddenly from a heart attack. It took the whole family by surprise. He was a great man and a great, though goofy, Uncle. I loved him a lot. I am so grateful for his example of optimism, laughter, respect, and love. Anytime we would have family parties he would always make me feel welcome and that I was important. He would always make sure and catch up on what I was doing, how I was, and even how Braedon was doing on his mission. He was always laughing and always smiling and always wanting others to be doing the same, and I'm sure he still is now. I hope I can learn from his example and always try and spread a smile around.

Sunday night was probably the toughest for me. While I love Mike and I will miss him and his caring nature quite a bit, I just kept thinking of Cher and my Cousin's that would be most effected by this. I can't imagine the pain they are going through and I just kept thinking and wishing there was a way to take it away. It was at this point that I understood the Atonement in a different way. I know that this is how Christ felt for all of us. He loved all of us so much that he did suffer for us. He has gone through all my pains and sufferings because he loves me. I am so grateful for the Atonement and for the knowledge of eternal families. I know it is the biggest support to all of us at this time. And while I wish I could take the pain away there is something that my cousin Dave said at my Uncles funeral that stuck out to me a lot. He said that when people say to him that they wish they could take all the pain away he replies back with "I don't, cause if you took all the pain away, you would have to take the love away too". This thought struck me hard, because it is so true. I am blessed with amazing people in my life, especially my family. And I realize that there will be painful moments in my life, whether a death or something else, but even with that knowledge I would never ever change what I have. All the pain in the world wouldn't stop me from loving my family and friends as much as I do.

Though it was a straining week, the funeral services, in my eye, could not have gone better. It was filled with love, touching stories, hilarious stories, and some good advice. I know that Mike was there in spirit and that he was smiling away. Me, my sisters, and my dad sang at the funeral and luckily we all got through with out cracking. My cousin Kelli, Mikes daughter, sang as well and I'm not sure how she managed, but she did an amazing job and I know that it made Mike proud. The whole service was not so much a goodbye, but more of a tribute of Mike's life and a 'till we meet again' occasion. Cher closed the talks with an amazing speech of forgiving others, smiling, laughing, and loving those you come in contact with, all things that Mike practiced daily. Cher is an amazing person. She is a so caring and so strong and I am lucky to have her example of strength in my life. Then to close the services Cher had the accompanist play a favorite of Mikes, a Halloween Themed classic (Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor). It was perfect and so fitting and made me and the rest of the family laugh, while the Bishop looked a little shocked. I couldn't think of a better way to finish the services.

While this week may be over I know that the grief and pain are no where near over, especially for Cher and my cousin's. I am grateful though for the amazing family that I have and know that we will all be there for each other and especially Mike's family. Again I am grateful for the knowledge of eternal families and couldn't imagine a more wonderful and crazy family to spend forever with. I know I'll see Mike again and I know he would want us all to keep smiling and keep laughing. I am grateful for the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for Christ's love for me. I would not be able to handle life with out it. Thank you all for your love and support and the all the hugs, you know who you are. :)