Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Things Making My Day

I woke up yesterday morning to a heavy, cold drizzle. I thought to myself, "lovely... it's going to be a great day..." And guess what? It was!
-I had a test (that's not why it's so great, don't worry, I'm not that crazy) and I feel really good about it! It was an essay test which I hate, but one of the two questions to choose from was one I knew really well and had been hoping would be on it!
-The weather! Weird, I know, but it's really fall now! And I LOVE fall! In honor of the day, we went and bought donuts, cinnamon apple bread, cider and hot chocolate then we took it to a couple of the houses of guys we're really good friends with as a 'happy fall' surprise. They loved it!! We loved making their days :)
-Yesterday was one of those rare 'oh man, we have nowhere to be' nights. You bet we took advantage of that! We went shopping, got some sweet jackets and fabulous knee socks, then hit up Cafe Rio, took our friend to dinner during his work break. Then we did our fall treats and topped off the night with country dancing! We agreed it was the best night of September.
-Along with the weather thing, it got us really excited for the football game tomorrow. We play BYU in Provo. Pretty much anyone you talk to will say that BYU's going to kick our trash, but we feel like they have another thing coming. They're really not as good as people give them credit for, and we've come a long way. I mean last year, we were the first team to score against them and we did it twice. We're a very different team now and I can't wait for tomorrow!
-Keeping with the sports theme, yesterday marked the exact one month until BASKETBALL SEASON!!! Hooray! We can't wait.
-We decorated our apartment yesterday! We've finally gotten all our Aggie pride stuff up; posters, Mardis Gras beads in school colors, pennants, etc. Also up is our quote wall. Finally. We say a lot of funny things and have been forgetting about them. Now we can keep up. We put up fall decorations too! Leaves on the wall and tables, candles, all that good stuff. We feel really good about it.
-I fell in love with a new band. Rogue Wave. If you've seen 'Love Happens,' (which everyone needs to see) they're in there. I saw the movie, bought the soundtrack, and now I'm addicted. They even already have their own station on my Pandora. That's how great they are. I don't make stations for just anyone.

"I love us!"

I know I've mentioned some of the adventures of my best friend Erin and I, but I've never really gone in to a lot of detail...

We love wearing our cowboy hats.

We love Walmart adventures.
(this is the Christmas room!)

We love our Aggies!

From crazy adventures, to late night delirium, there's never a dull moment with us two! We crack ourselves up. We love us!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Week of Coming Home

This week is Homecoming here at Utah State. This is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. I think it's a great reminder of why we all love it here so much. Why do I love Utah State? Well, let me tell you.
I love the school pride. As they say, "Once an Aggie, always an Aggie." It's something that never leaves you. In good times and in bad, past and present students will always stand for their Aggies.
I love the location. Cache Valley. You can't beat it. It's beautiful. All the time. I love all four seasons, the canyon and our proximity to it. I love the view of the valley from campus. I love Aggie athletics. End of story.
I love the friendliness. It's so easy to meet new people. I meet someone new nearly every day. Even if you don't know someone, they'll still say hi. It's fabulous.
I love the campus. It's beautiful! I love that people just sit around on their computers, on the phone, or just sitting in the shade on the quad. Being on campus all day is not a bad thing! I love to just sit on the patio of the TSC and watch people. I love how close everything is, and I love all the diversity.
I love the ease of getting involved. No matter what you want to do, you can do it. The 3rd floor of the TSC is my second home. The people I have there are my family. I love it.
Now, everyone knows how much I love Utah State, so this hardly does it justice, but these are just a few of the reasons why. Why do you love it? (Either Utah State, or your own school)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Highlights of the Week

So I don't have long, but here are the highlights of my week.

Monday- FHE! I hadn't been in quite awhile, always had a bunch of stuff going on, but I finally got to go. It was pretty low-key, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, played kickball, played on the swings, all sorts of good stuff!

Tuesday- I just love Tuesdays! Tuesday nights are my big busy night. I come home for an hour or so after classes and work, and then it's back up to campus for meetings. I'm in meetings from 6 to 10, and I love it! I love being involved and all the people I get to be with for those hours. It's so great!

Wednesday- KEITH URBAN! 'Nuff said there :)

Thursday- I got ahold of season 5 of The Office :) I just got in to the show this summer, so have been trying frantically to get caught up. Season 6 starts on Thursday! I'm on the last disc of season 5, so I should be done tonight and set for Thursday!

Friday- Spaghetti Night! I owed two of my friends dinner, and our new friend 'Brad Pillow' came along. We took him on a photo adventure to the mall... Never a dull moment when Faf, Jake, and Sean are around!

Saturday- Peach Days! I love Peach Days. I've been going pretty much every year of my entire life. I love Brigham City and I love it. All of it. We did all the typical Peach Days stuff and then went and watched our friend Erik play softball. He did great! After that, we went and raided my grandpa's garden for peaches and grapes. The best ever!

Sunday- I love Sundays. Today was great! I was at the church for like 7 hours, but it was awesome! After church we ran home for 45 minutes to eat, but then we had to go back for an Activities Committee meeting, then the CES Fireside, and then ward prayer. The fireside was awesome! If you didn't get to see it, you should watch it online when it comes out. Sister Dalton's incredible. I loved that we got to listen to her because now that we're not in YW anymore, we hardly ever get to hear her! It was so great!! (oh, and the start of the NFL season was great today too! Bummer for my Cardinals, but way to go Cowboys!)

So that's my week... and there's tons to look forward to this week. We decided last night that we're going to go to the Brad Paisley concert on Saturday! Also, just FYI there's only 47 days until basketball starts :)

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Butterfly Fly Away

I don't know who out there has seen 'Hannah Montana: The Movie,' but if you haven't, I think you should. I just watched it (again, Erin and I saw it the night it came out) and remembered how much I love it. I mean, the beginning is a little cheesy, but don't give up on it. Give it half an hour or so and you'll be fine.
I love the relationship that Miley has with her dad. (In the show and movie it's her real dad, aka Billy Ray Cyrus) In her crazy 'best of both worlds' life, he's always there. In the movie she writes a song about their relationship after everything else is falling apart; boys, her Hannah life, etc. It's called Butterfly Fly Away. Here are the lyrics. And then I'll tell you why I love it :)

You tucked me in, turned out the light
Kept me safe and sound at night
Little girls depend on things like that

Brushed my teeth and combed my hair
Had to drive me everywhere
You were always there when I looked back

You had to do it all alone
Make a living, make a home
Must have been as hard as it could be

And when I couldn't sleep at night
Scared things wouldn't turn out right
You would hold my hand and sing to me

Caterpillar in the tree
How you wonder who you'll be
Can't go far but you can always dream

Wish you may and wish you might
Don't you worry, hold on tight
I promise you there will come a day
Butterfly fly away

Butterfly fly away, butterfly fly away
Flap your wings now you can't stay
Take those dreams and make them all come true

Butterfly fly away, butterfly fly away
We've been waiting for this day
All along and knowing just what to do
Butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, butterfly fly away

Butterfly fly away
Butterfly fly away

Now, this part of the movie is one of the times I may or may not get a little teary eyed and choked up. This reminds me so much of me and my dad. I mean, he didn't raise me on his own or anything, but he's just always been there. Like the first stanza, he was always there to tuck me in at night. Even when I got older, he would still come in and that was our time to catch up and just chat for a few minutes. I loved it! Even now, hardly a day goes by that we don't talk on the phone. He's always behind me in my goals and my dreams. He has full confidence in me. He's always there. Every concert, every soccer game (even the away ones), I always have his support. I am so lucky to have the relationship with him that I do. It's so hard to see my friends going through things and not having that relationship. I mean, sure, we have our days. Arguments, disagreements, etc. everyone has that, but I'm so lucky, and am reminded of how lucky I am so often!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Aggie Athletics

Fall is officially here. Football season has started. Last night we played the University of Utah in Salt Lake. We didn't win, but we're showing MAJOR improvement! Last year when we played them, they killed us 58-10. Last night the final score was 35-17. We had the first points (a field goal in the first few minutes)and then later, we had a 96 yard touchdown!!! It was BEAUTIFUL!!! I was one of the lucky ones to actually be at the game and I loved it. I had so much fun! My throat isn't used to games, so it's a bit sore this morning, but that's ok. In honor of athletics off and running, here's my top five (I didn't have time to think of 10) favorite things about Aggie athletics.

5. New friends! We're all so mashed together, everyone trying to get as close as they can so you can't help but meet new people! You automatically bond over your shared love of the Aggies.
4. The atmosphere. No matter what kind of game it is, I just love it. For football I love the lights, the faint scent of fall, the setting sun behind the stadium. I love the noise, the food, the people. Being in the Sprectrum during basketball season is an experience in itself. It's a bit of heaven on Earth.
3. Losing control. I seem to be a totally different person when I'm at a game. I go crazy. Yes, I'm one of those front row crazy kind of people. I feel right at home though so it's a good different.
2. Winning (or not). Winning is always great, and we get lucky with basketball that that happens a lot, but even if we don't, I love seeing us try! Our football team is already showing major improvement and I can't wait to see what else we've got ahead.
1. School spirit. I love the Aggies. I love how much everyone else loves the Aggies. No matter what we support them! It doesn't matter if we're winning or losing, if we do something well or not, we're there. We're loud, we're excited. We sing our fight songs, and come up with some fabulous chants. I love it. There is not another school out there with as much spirit and support as we have. I love the Aggies!