HOLY cow, I'm headed to the HOLY land!!!

Well...my picture explains my emotions the past 24 hours! I've been absolutely crazy busy with school, and then I heard some WONDERFUL news...I'm going to study in Jerusalem in less than four weeks!!! I'm sure most of you knew I applied and was put on a waiting list, but by some miracle I got bumped all the way to the top, and now I'm getting the opportunity of a lifetime. I go back and forth between being overly excited and scared out of my mind, but in the long-run I know I'm going to absolutely love it over there. It's been crazy to realize how much I have to get done before I leave the U.S. but I'm not anticipating it being too rough. I've been anxiously awaiting the end of Spring Term here at BYU because I felt I "desperatley needed a break from school"...but apparently that's not going to happen. The program in Jerusalem is supposedly quite rigorous, but I'm ready for anything. I think I'm still in shock with this new change of plans, but I really can't wait to learn and see all about the places Christ lived. I've heard nothing but great things about it, so I'm hoping I'll have the same experiences.

I guess I should also update what's been going on in my life these past few weeks, since I've been extremely inconsistant with my blog. We just had a family reunion last weekend up at Bear Lake with the Anderson's, and it was AMAZING. It was so nice to get away from a few days and spend some quality time with my family. Jake and Bev planned the entire thing, and did an incredible job (thanks again, you two!) It was sad to see everyone go, but we had a great weekend full of laughter and fun.

Down in Provo, I'm still officiating kickball and softball. I'm starting to really love my job these days, and don't actually mind working every night. The kickball team I'm on for my ward is also still in the tournament (ok...so we've only had one game in tournament...) and we plan to take it all. :) I can't decide if it's funnier watching or playing kickball, but I enjoy both. My roommates even went to extremes and made posters and brought pom-poms. Needless to say, we generally intimidate our opponents with our fanclub before the game even starts. :) Our ward is a hoot, and we've done some fun things this summer together. Chels and I got to go up to the hot springs they have here with a group of people, and it turned out to be quite the adventure. It was an hour hike both ways, and was pitch black by the time we headed to the cars, but thank heavens we had a light-up frisbee to lead the way.

Another thing that's going on is that two of my best friends are getting married this next week...I swear I'm not old enough for this to be happening. Alex gets married on Thursday, and my old roommate Hydee gets married the following day. Crazy! I hosted a shower for Hyd with a few of our high school girlfriends, and we had a great time catching up on the latest gossip of Davis County. :) It's weird to think that these two girls are actually getting hitched, but I'm so happy for them both. Luckily I love both the guys they're marrying, or I'd feel like I was getting replaced with "unworthy opponents". Ha ha. Anyway - congrats to you guys.

Also, the beloved "Ella Good Shave Ice" shack is back!!! It's approximately a block away from my apartment, and I'm afraid it's right on the way to campus...so I visit quite frequently. My roommates and I decided to save our cups and stack them in the window to see how many times we go this summer, so we'll see how many windows we can fill. It's delicious, and super cheap too. I 100% recomment it!!!

I'm not sure what else there is to write about, and I'm thinking I should head to bed here sometime soon. School is coming to an end (HOORAY!) and I'm getting a little excited to be donw with these two classes. Summer is already flying, but at times it doesn't go fast enough. Aaron is coming out for Alex and Jake's wedding, and it'll be incredibly good to see him again :)

My work attire...do I look like a softball pro or what?

Cami and Abbie came to one of our kickball games - Abs was freezing, but she told me she wants to play kickball once she enrolls in BYU...I'll gladly teach her everything she needs to know.

The all-star team, in the flesh!

Up at the hot springs - the picture's not the greatest because it was super dark, but we had a great time...I can still smell the sulfur.

Party on!!! Our "slumber party" was a blast.

Summer's here!!! This was our first official visit of the season, followed by many more (Chels and I went again today...) And don't ask about the guy in the background...I have no idea who that is. Gotta love Provo :)

Well...here I am again, posting something new! I just wanted to put up a few more pictures of me and Aaron as a "tribute", if you will, to him. We went to see the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, but apparently it was too early in the season, because we only saw about 10 tulips in bloom. We ended up just goofing off and his sister took a few pictures of us on the beautiful grounds there. Aaron's now in good ol' Kansas City, Missouri selling alarm systems for the summer...leaving me in "good ol' Provo" by myself. Ha ha. It's been an interesting week without him, to say the least, but I'm getting by ok. I'm missing him a lot, but I've definitely got enough on my plate to keep me somewhat distracted. The two classes I'm taking this term are already too much for me to handle, and I'm overwhelmed by all I have on my daily agenda. Also, track season is coming to an end, which will give me a bit more time to relax. It's nice to be living so close to Ali and Mark, though, and I'm sure I'll be stopping in there on a regular basis now to relieve some stress (thanks, you two!) Anyway, things are getting better every day, so let's just hope I can pass Anatomy in the next six weeks.

Classic....

D-D-D-Dallas!

Well, as you may be able to tell by the title, I have recently returned from a wonderful trip to Dallas, Texas. It was my first time in the Lonestar state, and although I was skeptical, I actually loved it. A few of my roommates and I headed down to see another former roommate get married, so it was a fun getaway with the girls. We arrived in Dallas on different airlines, and had arranged for Brielle (my roommated that lives there) to pick us up. Well, apparently we didn't know there were TWO airports within close vicinity, because Hydee and I were looking for Brielle and Ashley all over the place, only to find out they were actually at a completely different airport. Ha ha. It was a great way to start off our vacation, and we couldn't help but laugh. I loved every minute of the time I spent there, and we saw a lot of cool stuff. Where JFK was assassinated, a few of the HUGE malls, a "real, authentic" Mexican restaurant, Whataburger (ask Dustin about that place), not to mention the Cotton Bowl arena, a wedding with drunk dancers, and Six Flags! It was a blast, to say the least, and I would definitely go back. It was great to spend some more time with Dust and Linds, although we were going back and forth for wedding stuff so much. They were awesome hosts, however, and went out of their way to shuttle us all over the city. When the trip was over, I was by far ready to be back in Utah, but it was a nice weekend away from Provo. If any of you are needing a time away, Dallas is the place to go! I'm sure Dustin and Lindsay would LOVE another visitor, since they've had them nonstop for the last month. Anyway, Texas was a riot, but it's good to be back home.
Need I say more...?Struttin our stuff at the "wedding of the century"
We thought this was an awesome picture of what Texas is...a dried up field with a fence :) I was actually surprised at how green it was there.
Pucker up!