Happy Birthday, Brent Nelson!!

I just thought I would wish my oldest brother Brent Nelson a happy 27th birthday!

Brent Nelson has always been a good example to me, and I've always looked up to the child. I remember always being excited when he would come visit us in Mississippi, and I would always try my best (a little too much sometimes) to fit in with him and what not.

And the last few years, he and I have become two of the greatest friends--attending BYU football games together, ditching school so that I could spend time with Brent and Brighton, doing yard work together, etc. etc.

Happy Birthday, Brent Nelson!! Much luf, man!

Alive and Well

I am just letting the world know that I am alive and well. I have been up in Utah this last week, and we are driving home tomorrow. The drive up here was good. I told Matthew I would drive through the snow, and so I had to drive through a blizzard when we went through Beaver, Utah, and what not. Matt decided to sleep on me, even though he told me that I couldn't sleep while he drove. And so I just drove and sang along to some tunes. I lost control of the wheel and we almost died, and it caused Matt to wake up. Haha. But then he went back to sleep. I didn't mind, though--I was wide awake.

And we drive home tomorrow, so hopefully the roads aren't as bad!

This Christmas will more than likely be my last before I go on my mission, and it was a pretty good one. I wish I could have been with ALL of my family, but we can't always have what we want, right? I hope everyone had a good Christmas this year! I look forward to spending my next Christmas while on the mission. It'll be different, but I look forward to it.

Well, there's not much else to say. I've eaten a lot of popsicles up here in Utah, and I bought some pineapple soda for 69 cents.

I hope everyone had a good, safe Christmas!

BYU Football Fireside

Logan and I had the oppurtunity to go to the BYU Football fireside tonight. It was excellent!

The talks were very good. Wayne Latu's was especially powerful; and he was very funny!

The head coach, Brono Mendenhall, told us a story about how he practically bore his testimony in a press release this morning when an ESPN interviewer asked him, "How can football by fifth?" The interviewer was refering to Bronco's philosophy on the Gospel, the family, friends, and service coming before football.

And that is why I love Bronco. He is the best coach in the nation in that he teaches his players that football isn't what is most important!

Anyways. Here are some pictures I took with the players afterwards!

Me, Logan, Wayne Latu, and random guy.

Us again.

Harvey Unga and me.

Me and Dennis Pitta (Blurry, but powerful!)

Me and Max Hall FTW!!

Adventures In The Snow

As a child, I was quite the fan of snow. Why? Because it was so rare!!

Over the years, though, I've kinda grown out of it, and I've been grateful that Vegas never gets snow.

However, I have changed my mind after today. I think Henderson/Las Vegas deserves a snow day at least once a year! There are some mountains not too far from my house, and some friends and I decided to go and check the snow out there. And we had a GREAT time.

Walter and Allison.

Scotty!

BDN

We did a lot of snowball fighting! At first, I took sides and it was Erika and I against Scott. But then I felt bad, and I teamed up with Scott to get Erika. :) It was fun! And cold!

Mine, Scott, and Erika's snowman!

The hill we sledded down!

Snow angels!

FTW.

Me and Erika!

More Snow (Global Cooling??)

It's almost been snowing for six hours straight, and the palm trees in the front yard have collected a bunch of snow. And so Dad got to work!!

Snow

Around 11 AM or so, it started to snow a little. I said, "No biggie. It's not snowing very hard--it'll probably stop soon, too."

I was wrong. I went to the school assembly around 12:22 PM, and it got done about an hour later. And to my surprise, it was pouring snow!

And it's been snowing ever since. :) It's not MUCH, but it's a lot for Vegas. ;)

A Dream So Real

Last night I had one of those dreams. One of those dreams that seems so real.

I can't really put the beginning of the dream into words--that part is kind of blurry to me now.

However, I can remember the middle of my dream all the way to the end of it. The first part I remember was being in some kind of class. One of the assistant principals was there, and he was introducing us to a new teacher/guest speaker.

Oh, and I was the oldest one there. I was the only senior, and I had a few of my freshmen and sophomore buddies (that I know from church) in the class with me.

At first, the teacher seemed really cool. I can't remember what he was teaching us about at first, but then all of the sudden, religion came up.

The teacher began talking about Mormons and how horrible they were. And then he told us that the Book of Mormon wasn't true, and that Joseph Smith was a liar. I sat in my desk, thinking everything he was saying was true, and I started to cry a little. I looked over at my friends and just thought, "Won't they say something??"

But before I knew it, I was on my feet, yelling at the teacher--telling him he was wrong. I told him that the Book of Mormon was true and that a Prophet of God translated it. And then I attacked him!

And then I woke up, and my heart was beating pretty quick. The dream seemed so real that I looked around my room to see where the teacher was at, but I couldn't find him. It took me a while to get back to sleep, but I eventually did.

It was a pretty scary dream, but I am glad I didn't just sit there and let him tell me lies. I am glad I stood up for what I believe.

This Week's Adventures

I am supposed to be picking Matthew up from the airport right now, but he hasn't called me yet. And so while I am waiting, I think I will write about this week's adventures.

Tomorrow is the sing-along and Brent and Shayla's. I am excited! It is always fun to spend time with Brent's family. I actually spent the night at Brent and Shayla's this last Friday. Brent needed some help hooking up some new phones at the office, and so I drove over to his house to help him after our school musical. Brent Nelson and I started hooking the phones up around 9:40 PM or so, and we got done a little bit after midnight. It was a pretty sweet adventure! I was too tired to drive home afterwards, though, so I went ahead and just stayed the night. Anyways--I am excited for tomorrow's FHE adventure!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will just be the usual days. I will be babysitting on Tuesday and Thursday night. And on Wednesday, we will probably have a Christmas combined activity for mutual or something. It should be great! :)

Friday will be fun. On Friday night, I am going to the BYU football fireside. BYU is going to the Vegas Bowl again this year, and it is tradition that they have a fireside the day before each game. I am excited to go and listen to Coach Mendenhall and some of the players speak. I remember when I went to the fireside two years ago, and it was very good! After the fireside, they usually have the players stand in the culteral hall, and you can get pictures with them, etc. I am excited!

Saturday is the big day. Dad, Brent Nelson, and I are going to the Vegas Bowl! BYU is playing a good Arizona team, and I am very excited to see my second Vegas Bowl game!

Well, Matthew just called, so I have to go pick him up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas Time!

BYU vs. Utah 2008 (One Week Later)

After having one week to think about it, I have a few more thoughts on the BYU vs. Utah football rivalry.

First, I never did believe in rivalries. I still kind of don't believe in them. I don't really have a HUGE problem with Utah fans--if they are half-decent.

I will admit--ignorning the color red for a whole week was silly. But it was fun.

But the thing that stood out to me this year--even though we lost--was the way I felt during the game. Every time BYU had the ball, this feeling just overcame me. I wanted BYU to just DESTROY Utah. When BYU scored a TD, I jumped to my feet, got pumped, and gave my brothers high fives.

Now--I usually hope BYU beats a team, no matter who they play. But when they played Utah last Saturday, I discovered that extra amount of intensity and eagarness to win. And it was POWERFUL!

And so what I am trying to say is: I am looking forward to my next BYU vs. Utah game in 2011 when I get home from my mission. FTW.

College Application: OFFICIALLY Complete

Victory! :) Brother Chase finally got around to filling out the seminary reccomendation, and so my BYU applications are officially complete. Now all I have to do is sit back and relax....

The trip up to Utah was good. There was a TON of rain on the way up here, and it was a bit scary at times, but it was a fun trip! I almost fell asleep at the wheel, haha, so we stopped at a random gas station, and I took a nap before we moved on. Better safe than sorry FTW.

It's been great seeing my Mom again. It's been fun hanging out with Cynthia, and it reminds me of the good old days. We've kind of switched places now, though. She makes me drive everywhere, while she gets to sit in the passenger seat. ;)

We went to the temple this morning, and we did some Baptisms For The Dead. It was excellent! Joe had some family names that he had to do, and that was awesome!

Well, I want to write more, but I am limited on time because we are about to have family prayer and what not. I hope everyone had a good and safe Thanksgiving!! :)

College Applications: Complete

I had the interview for my BYU applications with President Peterson today, and it went well.

I have now done everything that I can. President Peterson is going to mail in my Ecclesiastical Endorsement, and then all I need is Brother Chase to fill out my seminary reccomend.

Applying for BYU and BYU-Idaho was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and it was pretty convienient to apply to both schools with only one application. I look forward to seeing who accepts me and who doesn't! ;)

A Football Story

As everyone all knows, BYU fell to Utah 48-24 last night. The game was very, very good until the fourth quarter, when Utah scored 21 points off three BYU turnovers.

However, I think Max Hall (BYU's QB) said it best:

"It's just a football game," Hall said. "It's a big football game. But to be honest with you, I'm going to go home with my wife and my family, and I'm going to go home for Thanksgiving. And there's bigger things in life than football. But like I said, it hurt. Football's a big part of my life and there are definitely some things I can learn from."

He's right! Max Hall might get blamed by all the BYU fans for the loss, because he threw five interceptions. Me? I'm not blaming him, and I am not angry with him either. I am proud of Max for recognizing that yes, football is important to him, but things like family are much more important to him.

And so I learned a very valuable lesson last night after the game: There aren't only cons for losing football games--there are pros as well. Failing or losing at something like football shows us that we have room to improve. It also gives us the chance to realize--like Max did--that there are better things out there in life.

And so...Although BYU lost...Yesterday was still a good day for me in that I was able to see my brothers, and we were able to create a memory with eachother!

FTW.

Today

The day has finally arrived, my friends!

Last night, I went to the Las Vegas vs. Del Sol football game. Wow. GREAT. GAME. (I won't go into further detail, as I know I've already said enough about football in my last post.) But I did rush the field for my fourth time, and that was fun. (I rushed the basketball court for two Foothill games, and then I rushed the court when Vegas won the volleyball state championship this last year. Good times.)

Anyways. Here are my plans for the day so far:

8:30 AM to 10:00 AM--Do chores, etc.
10:15 AM to 12:00 PM--Shower, get BYU equipment on, etc.
12:10 PM to 1:00 PM--Enjoy some free time by playing some Secret of Mana on the Wii...
1:10 PM--Tithing Settlement
2:00 PM--Pregame show.
3:00 PM to 7:00 PM--BYU vs. Utah 2008!

BYU vs. Utah (My Experiences)

BYU vs. Utah 2006

It was Thanksgiving 2006, and I was visiting my Mom for Thanksgiving. In my earlier years, I absolutely hated sports, especially football. However, two months before my journey up to see my Mom, I attended the Foothill vs. Cheyenne football game. This would be the night where I actually enjoyed watching a game of football.

Foothill was a good football team back then, but many believed Cheyenne would pull of the upset. I remember Foothill getting ahead really quick, and I just thought, "Wow. No way are we going to lose this." The next thing I knew, we were in a close, heated battle with Cheyenne, and it was then that I realized that I didn't really know anything about football.

With about a minute left, our team put on an excellent drive and scored with about 25 seconds left. I remember going NUTS, and thinking, "Wow. Football is actually pretty sweet! Foothill FTW!" What happened next? Well, Cheyenne returned the kick-off for sixty yards, and had a chance to score again with about 3 seconds left. Once again, I really felt stupid for thinking that the game was over. But we batted down the pass in the end-zone and ended up winning the game, and I thought it was awesome.

While on our way up to Utah, my Mom called us and told us to make sure we got there before 1 PM or so because the BYU vs. Utah football game was going to be starting around that time. I remember thinking, "Oh. A football game. I will watch this." This was the first BYU football game I watched, and I now look back on it and realize that I just witnessed one of the most heated rivalries in college football.

I thought the Foothill vs. Cheyenne game was crazy! But nothing is better than watching a BYU vs. Utah game. BYU ended up winning 33-31 when John Beck threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight-end Johnny Harline with no time remaining on the clock. It was the first time BYU beat Utah since 2001, and I just remember thinking, "What an amazing, powerful game." I have been a BYU football fan ever since.

BYU vs. Utah 2007
One year had passed, and I once again found myself in Utah, visiting my Mom. My cousin, TAB, offered me his sister's ticket for the game because she wasn't going to go. I was PUMPED. But then TAB had to call off the deal because he remembered that his dad would probably want to go, so he gave my Uncle Karl the ticket instead, which I was absolutely fine with. I could just watch it on TV!

However, my Mom no longer had the channel for the game anymore. I am going to be honest and admit that I lost a few hours of sleep over this fact. I was really looking forward to this game, and I just wanted to watch it with my own eyes!

But the family had other things going on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it. I had to think of an alternative! And then I remembered: "I am in Utah! The game will be on the radio."

And so my brothers Brent Nelson, Timmy, and I went on a hunt to find one. Brent was doing some shopping for his family, and so we checked out Costco and Target. Neither really had any good, cheap radios. Heck, I didn't even have any money!

But then a miracle happened. We went to Albertson's to get some food for my Mom. I remember looking around the store, suddenly realizing that it was probably very unlikely that I find a portable radio in a store like Albertson's. But as we were about to leave, I saw it: FM/AM Portable Radio (Price: $7).

But the fact remained: I was broke! Brent wouldn't give me any money, and so I had one choice: My younger brother, Timmy Nelson himself. I dunno how I did it, but I somehow got a good eight bucks out of the child, and I purchased this radio.

This was the first game I listened to via the radio, and it was awesome. (I--to this day--listen to most of the games on the radio.) The game analyst were hilarious! I remember listening to the pre-game show and just getting goosebumps! I was so pumped.

As the game went on, I informed Brent Nelson on what was going on. We were eventually separated, though, and so Brent would listen to the game in his car. It was the fourth quarter, and Utah was up 10-9. There was about 1:35 minutes to go, and we had a good 80+ yards to go before we could score. Max Hall fumbled the ball, but recovered it, causing a loss of eight yards. And then he threw an incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was then that Brent Nelson called me and told me that he was done listening.

But I still had hope! Third and 18? Easy enough. But then Hall threw another incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was now fourth and 18, and I just remember thinking, "It's over. Utah has gotten their revenge."....But then out of nowhere I hear Greg (one of the analyst) yell, "Hall launces it to Collie, and...COLLIE IS BY HIMSELF ON THE SIDELINE AND MAKES THE CATCH FOR A FIRST DOWN!!!"

I was drinking some milk in the kitchen at the time, and I absolutely lost it! Collie made a 49 yard reception, and the game was suddenly back in our reach! After back to back penalties on Utah, BYU scored on an 11 yard run by running back, Harvey Unga. I then called Brent and informed him of the news. At first, he didn't believe me, and he thought I was just messing with him.

Utah had enough time to win the game, but BYU batted down the pass in the endzone, and the Cougars ended up with a 17-10 win!

(Brent Nelson and I later listened to the BYU vs. North Carolina (UNC was #1 at the time) basketball game via my radio, and that was pretty sweet! We almost beat the #1 team in the country!! It was awesome.)

BYU vs. Utah 2008
Another year has passed, and I am more excited than ever, as everyone already knows! :) This will be the biggest game out of all three. This is the first time BYU and Utah play eachother while both being ranked since 1994. It's been 14 years!! And I believe it is the first time they play eachother while bothing being ranked in the top 15. It'll be a great game, and I know BYU can win it!

Now--I really wanted to watch this game, but I didn't have the channel. So the original plan was to watch it over at my friend's house with some friends. Good idea, but...I always seem to turn against my friends when it comes to football games (See: Last year's betrayal when I actually went to the BYU vs. UCLA Vegas Bowl game with my brother, after I had planned to watch it with my friend and her family.)

This year: My brothers Luke, Logan, and Brent Nelson really want to watch the game, along with my Dad. So my idea: I'll just invite them over to Scott's house to watch it with us! But that wasn't going to work, because there was already going to be a bunch of people over there, and he doesn't have a very big living room.

My new solution: Talk to Dad and order the channel! And so I got with my Dad the other day, and I asked him if we could call the cable company and order the channel for the game. He said, "Oh, are you not going to Scott's house anymore?" I told him that I wanted to watch the game with Brent Nelson and the rest of the family, and he just said, "Alright, give them a call, and let me know how much it costs."

And so I called, but they eventually had to talk to my Dad. Dad talked with them for a few minutes, and hung up after a few thank-yous. Dad informed me that we now had the channels, and I was excited. I went into the blue room and tested it out, and it was awesome!

I am really excited to watch this year's game with my Dad and my brothers, and it's going to be sweet!! I informed Scott today that I probably wasn't gonna go to his house, and he wasn't very happy about that (especially since I planned it), but I am sure he will have fun with everyone else. :)

And so...on Saturday, make sure all y'all wear blue and support the BYU Cougars! We need to win this game to win the conference title for the third straight year!! ;)

College Application Progress

So far so good!!

I just need to get an interview with the bishop and stake president, and I need to get my high school transcript sent in. And then I will be set after paying the application fee.

I have my application set up for both BYU and BYU-Idaho, and it'll be interesting to see if I can actually get into Provo! :)

I just figured out that everything is due on December 1 for applying early and what not, so hopefully I can get those two small things done before the first! :)

Woo-hoo!!

No Red

There's just something about the color red that makes me cringe today....

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Thank You!....GO COUGS!!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the college help!

My plans:

-Apply for BYU and BYU-Idaho.

-If I get accepted to BYU (*hopes*), I will put in a deferment application right before I head into the MTC. If I don't get in, I will most likely get into BYU-Idaho, and I'll do the same thing with a deferment application. That'll be nice, because it'll give me one less thing to worry about while I am on my mission. :)

Simple enough, I think.

Speaking of BYU--they play Utah this week, and I hope everyone will join me in wishing the Cougars the best of luck!!

I don't have to work at Game Stop this week, so that'll give me plenty of time to prepare for Saturday's game. *must be focused* hahaha.

Team and fans alike storm the field after beating Utah in Provo last year.

Harvey Unga scores on a 15-yard run with less than one minute remaining to seal the deal.

Austin Collie converts on a crucial 4th and 18.

Max Hall celebrates a great win over Utah last year.

College Help?

Okay, the question isn't when I should go to college, because I've already figured that out--I am going after my mission.

However, I am wondering when I should apply and what not. I know Matthew just applied and what not when he got back from his mission, giving him a few months to spend some time with the family before going to school.

And then there are the return missionaries who apply in advance (or something--I'm actually not sure what they do) and go right back to school right when they get home.

I like the way Matthew handled it, but I am curious as to what the rest of the world thinks....

Haha. I am a little angry right now because every scholarship application explanation I look at says, "Must be attending college in the fall of 2009." Which I am not...So I am curious as to whether I'll even be able to get any scholarships.

I got my ACT results back today, and I got a 24 again. :/ I'll probably take it ONE more time to see if I can get something just a little bit better out of me.

Well, any help would be appreciated! :)

Fun Night, Brakes, Other Adventures

WARNING: I apologize in advance for this post being SUPER long. I hope some of y'all actually read all of it! :)

Last night was a pretty fun night for me. I really needed it after work, too. Haha. At work, I made some mistakes and the manager I was working with didn't seem very happy. That especially stunk, because I finally felt like I was figuring everything out. Apparently not! ;)

After work, the original plan was to go to Cici's Pizza in North Las Vegas with the kids I carpool to seminary and school. So the group was suppose to consist of me, Timmy, Skyler, Levi, Marissa, and Megan. However, only two from that list ended up going: me and Levi.

Everyone was invited to the park yesterday, and so I took Timmy over there. While we were there, we told Megan and Levi that we were going at 5:30 PM. The Jacoby boys were there as well, and they wanted to go to. I told them they could come, because we could probably just squish everyone in my van. So at this point, I thought a bunch of people were gonna be able to go...

But then Timmy informed me that one of his friends was having a birthday party at 5:30 PM. So that meant Timmy and Skyler wouldn't be going anymore. Timmy convinced Levi and Cody Jacoby to still come though, which was good.

Then I got home from work, and Timmy told me that Megan and McCall (Megan's little sister) couldn't come because it was family night. So that was two more people that couldn't come. We couldn't get a hold of Marissa, so I walked across the street to her house just to see if she was going to come. Sister Beatty invited me in, and I saw Marissa sleeping on the couch. Sister Beatty informed me that Marissa was pretty sick. So..Marissa couldn't come either!

It was at this point that I decided Luke and Logan could come with us, because we would have plenty of room. And so Luke, Logan, and I drove down the street to pick up Levi. I was getting pretty hungry at this point. Haha.

When we got to the Jacoby's house, Cody and his little brother Maison got in the van. "Excellent!" I thought. "We have plenty of room."

(Okay, before I move on, let me tell you about the Jacoby family. There is Sister Jacoby and Brother Jacoby, and they have seven boys in their family. They are about to have their eighth boy pretty soon, too. So yes, there are a lot of them, and they live in a pretty small house. They are moving to a bigger house this Friday, and so they won't be in my ward anymore. I am going to miss those kids.)

So I was ready to leave the Jacoby's house when Brock comes up to the driver's window and says, "My Dad says you can take our van, so that we can all go." The Jacoby's have a HUGE, 15+ passanger van/bus. I thought Brock was kidding at first, but then Brother Jacoby comes out of the house, and tells me that I can take his van. So I parked my van, and went into the house and got their van keys. Sister Jacoby was worried about me driving it, but Brother Jacoby was nervous at all. To tell the truth--I was a little nervous..Especially after our next little adventure I am about to tell you about.

So now our group consisted of: Me, Luke, Logan, Levi, Cody, Maison, Dallin, and Brock. I was pretty pumped, because I didn't think we would have a big group after everyone dropped out. And so we were off! Backing out of the drive-way proved to be difficult. No matter how hard I pushed my foot on the accelerator, the van didn't seem to want to go. "Oh well," I said. "Brother Jacoby said it was a old, so it's probably just not good."

So we are driving down College Drive, making our way down to Boulder Highway, and it started to smell pretty bad. I ignored the smell, because I thought they put on the heat, and I thought their AC might just smell bad. So we were turning onto Boulder Highway when a bunch of people starting honking at us. The Jacoby boys then started complaining about the smell. "Well, junk! If they are complaining about the smell, that probably means it isn't normal."

And so we pull into the Smith's on Boulder Highway, and as I am doing so, I notice that the brake light is on. "JUNK!! I was driving with the emergency brake on!" So all eight of us get out of the car, and the back tires are smoking EVERYWHERE. I felt really bad doing that in the Jacoby's van, and I thought I was in big trouble. Cody called his dad, though, and Brother Jacoby said it would be fine if we waited a few minutes. After all the smoke vanished, we all got back into the car, and we headed back onto the B. Highway. The van was MUCH easily to drive after this. I felt like an idiot for driving with the brake on, but the Jacoby kids thought it was hilarious, so I didn't feel too bad. :)

It was tough, but I got the fatty van all the way out to North Las Vegas, and we ate at the delicious pizza buffet. The kids loved it! I dunno why, but I prefer going out to places like CiCi's with a bunch of kids 3-8 years younger than me than I do kids my own age. I think it's because the kids just make it so much more fun. They were making me laugh like crazy last night! If I were to go with kids my age, though, they would just be like, "Oh, pizza. Excellent." And then we would eat without any of the jokes, etc. It's probably more fun for me, too, because sometimes I act like a twelve-year-old. ;)

After CiCi's, everyone wanted to go to the park here in Henderson to play "night games." A few parents were wondering if I could help supervise, and I agreed to do so. And so I drove everyone to the park in the Jacoby's van.

They played football when we got there. One of the dads in our ward was there, so they didn't exactly need my help to supervise, really. I didn't play football, because I was wearing sandels and the grass was COLD. The dad brought his little 3-4 year old daughter, though, and he told her that she could go play on the slide. Without him asking me to, I decided I would go watch her and make sure no one kidnapped her or anything. She was such a fun kid! Her Dad came up to me later and said, "I don't have to pay you do I? Because I left my money at my house." I just laughed and said, "Nah. I just love kids." He appreciated it, and it felt good to do a little service by watching his daughter.

After getting the Jacoby's home before 10 PM, Luke, Logan, and I met up with some of my friends at the park, and we played ultimate frisbee. It was excellent! I had some excellent, excellent catches, but I cannot throw a frisbee if my life depended on it!! Haha. I took of my sandals to play, though, and my feet were frozen by the end of the night!

After that (around 11:30 PM), I went and picked Timmy up from Skyler's house. He and I went to Albertson's because I wanted to get something for Marissa to make her feel better. So I bought her a little stuffed dog. Haha. I also made a card telling her to get better soon. I took the stuffed dog and the card to her this morning, and she looked pretty miserable! But she appreciated the get-well gifts, and I hope she gets better soon!

Oh, and while Timmy and I were at Albertson's we also got some bananna milk. It was delicious!! :)

And those were all of my Monday night adventures. PHEW!! It felt good to take a few hours of my day to do something fun with all the younger kids, and it felt good to just do kind, little things for people.

The Six Day Weekend And Other Adventures

First of all--the six day weekend probably wasn't the best idea. I was piled with a bunch of homework to do Tuesday night, and then I was welcomed back to school with even more make-up work. I'm almost done making everything up, though, and it feels good.

Voting in the election was pretty sweet. It's a shame it went the way it did, but we'll just have to accept Obama as the new president and see what happens. It should be interesting. The good news is: If Obama makes it four years, he will be running again, opposed to Hilary Clinton being able to run. That's about the only positive thing I can think of right now, though. :) Like I said--it'll be interesting!

Monday was a pretty sweet day as well. Timmy convinced me to let him ditch with me, and his friend Skyler joined us and my other friends. My good friend Scott, though, could only skip with us if he went to first period (band) first. So while Scott was at band, Tara, Timmy, Skyler, and I went to IHOP. I got the all-you-can-eat pancake combo, and it's pretty much the worst deal ever. Why? Well, my friend, you can't really eat many pancakes before you are stuffed. I ate a grand total of five pancakes. Good thing it was cheap! ;)

After eating, Scott met us at IHOP. We then went to Sunset Station to go bowling. They had a deal where you could bowl one game for one dollar. (We later found out that this deal was for hotel guests only--the guy must have thought we were hotel guests because we were there so early in the morning/not at school.) And so we boweled five games, and I was NOT good. Skyler almost broke the whole bowling alley down...It's a long story, and I prefer not to share it. ;)

On Monday, Timmy decided that he wanted to get an iPod touch with all birthday money. However, he was short $20-$30, so he and I made a deal. I would pay for the rest of the new iPod, and he would give me his old iPod in return. And so we shook on it, and it's supposed to be coming in the mail today. Timmy is pretty excited for it.

I've been having a lot of fun with the old iPod as well. I put a lot of my music on it, and now I am working on putting Christmas DVD's on it. Right now I am watching Home Alone 2 to make sure it works. I am testing them all, because Elf crashed half-way through the movie for some reason! And we want to especially make sure Home Alone and Home Alone 2 work, because the tradition is starting in three weeks!! :)

Other than all that...I've just been busy with work and what not. GameStop is starting to give me a few more hours, and I'm starting to get the job a little more. So--overall--I am doing pretty good!! I am excited for another four day weekend this weekend. :)

Church, Christmas Time, The Next Two Days

Church was excellent today. Sacrament meeting was excellent as usual, but my shoulder is still tired. You see--I had to hold the microphone for THREE baby blessings in a row, and it was pretty tiring. I was shaking by the end of the third blessing. Pretty intense.

Brother Payne gave an excellent lesson on charity in priesthood today. I enjoyed it as usual. I am truly blessed to have leaders like Brother Payne. He's an excellent example to me. He has taught me many times that things can be hard, but those hard things are always possible to get through if we have the Lord on our side. You can tell that our leaders in the Priest Quorom really care about all of us, and they are doing an excellent job of teaching us what we need to know for the mission field. *loves my leaders*

After church, we all met in Bishop's office to see Timmy be ordained to the office of a priest. I once again had the chance to help ordain my little brother--I had the same experience with Logan a few months ago--and it was a great experience like last time. The Priesthood is powerful.

I am really excited for Timmy to be in Priest Quorom. This will be the first time that Timmy and I are in the same Quorom. We never have been before, because I always move up before he moves up. Haha. If that makes sense. ;) I guess that's just what happens when you are two years apart.

After ordaining Timmy, Bishop talked to my Dad about mission papers and what not. I'm going to be put into the mission computer on May 6, so I can start filling out papers after that. Bishop actually suggested that we call and make the doctors and dentist appointments tomorrow. It was pretty sweet to think that I only have about six months until then. I'm starting to get pretty anxious, and even a little worried/scared. But that's just how I've always been. I know that I will do fine out on the field if I am prepared and if I continue to follow the Spirit's promptings. The six months are going to fly by--I know they will--and Satan is going to be working especially hard to tempt me to make a wrong choice. I've already made my choice, though--I'm serving a mission and I'm not going to let anything stop me from doing so.

I am starting to gear up for the Christmas season. We are starting some Christmas movies tonight, so that we can have them all watched by Thanksgiving--when we start watching Home Alone and Home Alone 2. I am burning some Christmas CD's to have in my car and for the trips up to Utah. I am pretty excited for my last Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. It's not that I'm excited to leave my family or anything. It's just exciting to know that this is the final chapter of the first part of my life. I am really looking forward to parts two and three--my mission and then raising a family of my own. Knowing that this is my last Christmas with my family before my mission just makes me realizes how close parts two and three are. :)

We have school tomorrow, but we don't have school Tuesday. So I--the rebel that I am--am not going to school tomorrow, because I think it's dumb to give us Tuesday off, but not Monday. Rather, I am going to go to IHOP and then I'm going bowling. It'll be sweet. I work at GameStop from 1 to 5 PM tomorrow, and that'll be interesting as usual.

Tuesday will be fun. I get to go vote with my Dad, and then I am going to go donate blood at 1:30 PM. It'll be interesting to see how much my cholesterol level has gone up since I last donated. HAHA. I've gained so much weight...I am now 190.5 lbs. Wow....That's sad. Earlier this year I was probably 160 lbs. I plan to start running and doing core workouts starting tomorrow. I also plan to stop eating fast food 5+ a week. I need to eat healthier. ;)

The Last Couple Of Days

My new baby nephew Seth was born on Tuesday, and it was a pretty exciting day. I truly do love my nieces and nephews, and it is excellent to now have five of them! :)

Also on Tuesday night, our stake had a youth Halloween party. I had to miss it, because I was babysitting, but it sounded like it was pretty fun.

On Wednesday night, Brent Nelson brought Brighton over so that I could watch him while Brent went to see Shayla and Baby Seth in the hospital. Brighton, Luke, Logan, Timmy, and I watched The Incredibles. Around 5 PM or so, I went to McDonalds and picked up some food for us. I got a few things off the dollar menu, and then I got Brighton a chicken nuggets kids meal.

While Brent was here, he told me that it was the worst being away from his wife and his new-born child while they were in the hospital. Although Brent still had Brighton, he seemed a little lonely and sad/down, which is understandable. And so after Brent left with Brighton, I thought it over a little bit, and I decided that I was going to take Thursday off from school to go to Brent's house instead to keep him some company and to help him out with Brighton. And so after Seminary Thursday morning...I made my way to Brent's house, and helped out a little bit. I am very glad Shayla and Baby Seth are home and healthy! :)

Thursday night was a fun night. I babysat the Brunson's kids and then I went to Foothill's last game of the season (excluding playoffs). We lost to Coronado in overtime, and it was probably some of the worst officiating I have ever seen by the refs. But I'm probably just saying that because we lost and all the dumb penalties were against us. Haha. Had we won, I would have probably said it was a well-reffed game. ;) The funny thing: Foothill is still going to playoffs next week with a 2-4 league record. We play Las Vegas in the first round, and we are going to get destroyed!!

After the game, my friend Jeff and I went to IHOP. There is an IHOP next to my house, but it is only open until 10 PM. Jeff did some research, and we found an IHOP that is opened 24 hours, and so we drove out there and ate some breakfast around 11 PM or so. I got the breakfast sampler and it was delicious.

Today's been a fun day as well. Some friends and I went to the regional cross country race, and Foothill got second place for both the boys and the girls. The guys would have won, but a few players junked up, and were inelligible. Our girls team has the best girl runner in the state. Leah Leedy is a senior, and I've had a few classes with her since my sophomore year. She is so fast, and she can run faster than a lot of the guys! She finished a good minute or two before any of the other girls. It was sweet, and I hope she wins state next week!!

I am not exactly sure what the plan for Halloween is tonight, but I do believe I will just go to a Halloween party...

BDN Update (Big Day, Big Month)

Dear World,

I have a lot I want to talk about!

First, I want to let everyone know that I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday. Wow. What a great, great book. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and I am grateful for the lessons that it teaches me. It really does comfort me in my times of need. I challenge everyone to read it and see how much of a difference it makes in your days. There have been days where I forget to read my scriptures, and there is just a huge difference in how you feel and your day never seems to go as well. My next step is to read the New Testament, as that is what we are studying this year in seminary. I also want to continue to study the Book of Mormon so that I have a better understanding of it for my mission. :)

Today was an uneventful day, but it was actually very good. I went to seminary and school as usual, and then I had to work from 1 to 5 PM. The job at GameStop is pretty good, but I am not sure if it's worth it to only work 1-2 days a week. I definitely like my tutoring and babysitting jobs a lot more. Those two jobs are just a lot more fun than being a video game salesman, really. ;)

After work, I had to make dinner. I made some beef stew from the can, and it was the good kind. I enjoyed it. After dinner, we had FHE, and Timmy gave an excellent lesson on obedience. Timmy reminded me that sometimes we just have to be obedient, even if we aren't sure why we are being asked to do something. A very valuable lesson, indeed.

Also during FHE, my Dad helped me choose who to vote for in my sample ballot that I got in the mail. There are a lot of people to vote for other than the President! I never realized that. My Dad surrendered his mail-in ballot so that he can go and vote with me on election day next week. That brought a huge sigh of relief, because this will be my first time voting, and I was afraid my Dad was going to make me go by myself, not really knowing what to do. :)

I also plan on giving blood again on Election Day, since we don't have school, and I have nothing better to do. :) I haven't talked to my friend Scott yet, but I am going to make him come with me and donate some of his blood!

This Friday we also get school off because it is Halloween/Nevada Day, and I am really looking forward to a four day week of school. I am not sure what the plans are for Friday, though. I am supposed to go to IHOP Friday morning with my friend Jeffrey. But I am also supposed to have a Jell-O/Pudding party with some other friends. And then some other friends want me to have a late birthday party on Friday. And then another friend wants me to go over and spend Halloween with him in Las Vegas. And Luke wants me to drive him and his friends around to go trunk or treating. Not to mention that I think another group of friends are planning on having a Halloween party Friday night. So yeah--I am going to have to make some choices this Friday. :)

Tonight I had the opportunity to catch up with my good friends, Kyle Taylor and Forrest Sassaman. It was good to talk with both of them and see how they are doing. Kyle was telling me how he has been busy making sure that everyone over there in Mississippi doesn't fall away, and how he is working especially hard to make sure everyone stays on the straight and narrow path. He is now the first assistant to the Bishop, and he seems to have grown and matured a lot since I last talked to him back in 2005. I am really proud of Kyle and the path he has taken since I moved from Mississippi!

Forrest lives on the East coast now, and his stories are really sad. The last time I talked to him (a few months ago), he told me about how his Mom had gotten cancer and what not. Today he informed me that his Dad was working out of state, and that his Dad leaves for months at a time and comes back every once in a while, but only to visit for a few days. However, Forrest seems to be pretty positive about it, and he's keeping his chin up; I am very proud of him as well. Forrest isn't a member of the church, but he's a great, great kid. We talked on the phone about a year or so ago, and he figured out I was a Mormon. (Haha. He never knew that when we lived in Mississippi because he moved before I could really ever tell him about my religion, etc.) I was afraid Forrest was going to think of me differently because he figured that out, but he only respects me, and every time I talk to him, he asks, "So do you know where you are going on your mission yet?" And it's good to have friends ask me that, because it helps me realize how fast May/June is going to come. :)

Speaking of missions--I got a letter from my good friend, Elder Steven Tolboe. He is a friend of mine from my ward, and he just went into the MTC this month. He's only a year older than me, but he really has been an excellent example to me throughout the years. In his letter, he told me to go out with the missionaries as much as I can. And then I realized that I haven't actually ever been out with the missionaries. And so I am going to talk with the Elders in my ward this week and see what I can do.

Well, my friends, there is a lot more I wanted to say, actually, but I will save all of that for another time, as I don't want to make this post TOO long like I have been known to do. :) However, I just wanted to mention really fast how excited I am for seminary this week. Brother Chase (my seminary teacher from last year) is subbing my class the next three days, and I am really excited to be taught by him again! He's a very good teacher, and it was his seminary lessons that really made everything click for me last year. :) So yeah--I am excited!

I hope everyone has a good week!

Yours Truly,
BDN

P.S.
How could I forget!?!? Most important of all: My sister, Shayla, is having her baby boy tomorrow, and I am super excited. I really do love my nieces and nephews. They have given me a good idea of how much I am going to love my own children, and I am really excited to have another baby nephew to love and cherish! :)

Not Yet! (The Time Thief)

Last night Timmy told me that my Aunt Marrae and a few other people had told him that today was the day we set out clocks back one hour.

Last night, Timmy and I were on that side of town, and I was hanging out with some friends until about 1 AM. But then Timmy told me it was the day to fall back. And so I thought, "Excellent. I can set the clock back, and we won't be back as late." So we got home around what I thought was 12:45 AM, and I thought, "Sweet!"

Well, I woke up this morning around 7:00 AM, and we had stake conference at 10:00AM, and I was glad for my extra hour or sleep, thinking I still had three hours to get ready. Something was fishy, though: The computer clocked hadn't changed...The cell phones hadn't changed...And the atomic clock hadn't changed!

And so I did a little Google-research and found out that the time actually falls back NEXT Sunday. And then suddenly I only had about an hour and a half to get ready, rather than two hours and a half. I am glad we caught our mistake before it was too late! :)

Random Tuesday Night Thoughts

Today I realized just how much I don't know, and just how much I need to learn. The last few months, I've been under the impression that I know how the rest of my life is going to play out. But last night I realized that isn't really the case, and it actually made me panic a little. My thoughts, "Maybe I don't know how my life is going to play out after all; maybe it's not going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be."

I did a lot of thinking and pondering today, though, and I came to two conclusions:

1. Yes, it's going to be hard, but I can do hard things if I continue to make the Gospel a priority in my life.

2. About a year from now, I am going on a mission to serve the Lord full-time, and I will be blessed the rest of my life for doing so. And that's the only thing I should be focusing on right now. I shouldn't be worrying about all the other stuff that comes after the mission.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

It's taken me a very long time, but I am now approaching the end of the Book of Mormon. What a powerful, powerful book. Tonight I read the first five chapters of Moroni, and as we all know--some of the things Moroni teaches us are about priesthood ordination and the Sacrament prayers. It really was a great reminder to me that I need to be living as righteously as I can to take part in a very sacred ordinance like the Sacrament. I am looking forward to finishing the Book of Mormon over the next couple of days!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the goals I have been working on is being a better brother. Now--I know my older siblings are going to probably say that I already am a good brother, but that's probably because y'all are older than me, and I've had a pretty good relationship with all of my older siblings since I was about ten. The ones I have had trouble with are the three younger boys, really. But ever since I've become the oldest child, my three little brothers and I have gotten pretty close, and I really feel like I am doing a good job now.

The primary program for our ward was on Sunday, and Luke's part was to just bear his testimony. Luke likes to get up there often, and a lot of the times he says the same thing every time he goes up. But I was surprised on Sunday when he got up there--Luke shared one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard in my life. After the program, I went up to Luke and gave him a hug, but I couldn't get any words out because I was too busy shedding a few tears. Luke has grown up a lot over the years, and I am proud of him, Logan, and Timmy. I know they look up to me, and they do their best to follow in their older siblings' footsteps, and it really makes me feel really good inside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

On Friday, I skipped my fourth hour to go to my friend Tara's art class, and while I was in there, she and I talked a little bit about college and what not. And then we talked about missions; she's not a member. She couldn't believe that I was going on my mission before college, because she thought it would hold me back. I explained to her that the mission actually benefits us because it teaches us good study habits, etc. I told her that a bunch of guys--including my elder brother Matthew--go on their missions before college, and they actually do better in college than they would have done had they started fresh out of high school. She wasn't full convinced, but it was cool as always to teach her about missionary work. :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Homecoming 2008 (In Review)

Sorry it's taken me a whole 24 hours to let everyone know how homecoming went. :)Homecoming was pretty sweet for me. I only hope that my three buddies can say the same! ;)

For those of you who don't know, my good friend Jared Brummett and I doubled for homecoming this year. JB took my good friend Chelsea, and I took my pal Angela. It was good to be around all three of them, and it really brought back some memories of the good ol' days!

Homecoming actually started off on a bad note. I visited with Brent Nelson for a few minutes before I made my way to JB's house. That was excellent, and I was ready to go! But then I got to JB's house, and he asked me a question about my corsage. My heart sank as I realized that I forgot Angela's corsage in my fridge at home. I looked at JB's clock, and it was 4:18 PM. The plan was to pick up Angela around 5:00 PM. I decided I had time if I were to leave right away. So...I did, and I got back to JB's around 5:10 PM or so. It was definitely a scary moment, though!

Before I tell everyone what we did...I just want to let everyone know how JB and I planned this date. I had a few goals in mind. A)Spend a small amount of cash, B)Do simple, but fun activities, and C)Don't make a fiend out of yourself. Well, I dunno about part C, because I definitely DID say some weird, random things, and it probably was an overall fiendish preformace by me, but it was still fun in the end. :) Part B was probably a B-; we did some simple things, but I could have probably made it more fun. Part A was successful; I dunno about JB, but I spent less than $40, which was an excellent amount compared to last year's expensive homecoming adventure.

Anyways! We started the date off with a little picture-taking. Usually, I talk with someone and get them to take pictures for us. However, last year the lady that took my homecoming pictures never gave them to us, so...JB and I decided to take matters into our own hands. The plan was to just go somewhere nice and take a few shots. Of course, we ended up at the temple because it's a very beautiful place. Sister Seastrand and Brother Seastrand actually ended up coming to take group pictures for us, and it was very helpful! *appreciates*

After pictures, we went to Olive Garden. I love that place. We got stuck with a pretty weird waitress, but she was really pretty sweet. She made us laugh a lot, though. JB got some dipping sauce for our breadsticks, and we asked the waitress what the "green stuff" was in the dip. She looked at us, held up three fingers, and then said, "Four cheese!" Well, we already knew it was a four-cheese dip, but we wanted to know what the green, seasony stuff was, so...We got a good laugh from that! And then there was a really weird waiter that told us some weird story about how his daughter went to homecoming, and how he got angry when the boy kissed his daughter or something??? I am still curious as to what the guy was talking about, really.

We made our way to Boulder City after dinner. As I mentioned in an earlier posts, we were going up to the top of a mountain in Boulder City. On the way up there, we found a little rest stop, and we stopped there to take a much-needed bathroom break (for me, anyways). But before we knew it, we were on the old dusty trail again. It took a while to get up there, but we eventually made it.

When we got up there, JB and I realized we didn't bring any flashlights. Not good. I made these "Constellation Books" that were full of constellations that you could see in the sky. They were pretty sweet books, but they were pretty pointless if it was too dark to read them. HAHA. So JB and I decided to skip that part and just start our little dance. JB started the music up via my car, and we danced to two songs; JB and I danced with our dates and then each other's dates. After dancing, we just chilled up on the mountain and talked and took more pictures. It was sweet. I saw two shooting stars!!

After the mountain adventure, we headed back to Henderson to get a carwash. A carwash was always on my list of "random activities for a date" but I actually needed to get one because my dad asked me to. So it all worked out! After getting the carwash, we went to my Albertson's and bought our dates some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We made our way to my house, where we ate the delicious ice cream.

And that was it! I thought it was an excellent time. :) Everyone be sure to go here and check out the pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=59526&id=724830816

Homecoming Countdown: One Day!

The BYU football team fell for the first time this season last night when they lost to a very well-prepared TCU team. Usually when I am in this situation, I am kind of bummed out and what not. But there is one thing that makes the loss better for me: Homecoming is still tomorrow. :)

I haven't been this excited for a long time. I dunno. My eighteenth birthday was exciting; the trip to Provo was very, very exciting. But I have really been looking forward to homecoming the most. Last year's homecoming experience was okay, but in a lot of ways I found it to be a tad disasterous. I wanted this year to be special and fun, and that's one reason I asked Angela. She is excellent, and she has proven to me that I can always rely on her to make me laugh/smile. So yeah--tomorrow is going to be really fun. :)

Today I got some things done for homecoming after school. My friend Tara and I went to SuperCuts, and I got a haircut. It looks pretty sweet. After the homecoming assembly, Timmy, Kaden, and I went to the mall to get me a sweet new tie. It's probably my new favorite tie. It's excellent!

I have to work until 9:30 tonight, and I hope it goes by really quick. Here is my plan:

-Get home from work; chill with the bros until about 11:30 PM or so.
-Go to sleep.
-Wake up nice and early.
-Do Saturday chores.
-Go to Country Rose and pick up corsage.
-Come home; get other stuff done.
-Prepare for homecoming.
-Enjoy Homecoming Adventures!

First Day At GameStop

The first day at GameStop was pretty good. There is a lot to learn about the job, and I hope that I will be able to catch on quickly. I've already forgotten a few things I learned, but I can only get better at it, right? :) Today, I worked with my manager Jill. She had me label USED games and what not. She taught me how the computers work and what not. My lesson of the day: I DO NOT know as much about video games as I always thought I did. There are a lot of crazy people out there who ask about/for crazy weird games. It's pretty ridiculous.

With that out of the way.....I am very, very glad Wednesday is over. I've been pretty impatient for Thursday to come this week. BYU's biggest test of the season comes tomorrow when they play TCU, and I am pretty pumped for the game. You can count on me to where my BYU shirt to school tomorrow and what not. It'll be good to watch another BYU football game with my fine brother Brent Nelson for the second time in five days. For once, I'm not 100% positive that BYU will win, but I know they can!

Other things to look forward to tomorrow: I am mowing Sister Wadsworth's lawn, I am tutoring, and I am stopping by Angela's house to get her dress fabric (so I know what color of tie to buy and what not.) Woo-hoo for homecoming! *dances*

Jumping A Huge Hurdle (Late Night Post)

I knew today was going to be a long, stressful one. But now I can say it is finally over, and that I jumped the hurdle. I have literally been working on homework since about 1:30 PM, but I took a few breaks to go get milk from the store, to go to FHE, etc.

But alas. It feels really good to have my Government paper done and out of the way. It feels good to have all my other Government and English homework done.

I went to Country Rose today and bought my date her corsage, and it's about time I finally did that! :) Homecoming should be real sweet, and I shall spend the next few days doing little things to prepare for it.

The #1 thing that was worrying me: How GameStop scheduled me for Thursday. Well, it feels good to have finally gone down and talked to my manager; she understood and apologized for scheduling me on a day I couldn't work. She moved me over to Friday. That means I'll have to miss the homecoming game. What of it? I'd rather watch BYU football than Foothill football! ;)

I have another few busy days ahead of me--mainly Wednesday and Friday. But I am really looking forward to my big break tomorrow and my even bigger break on Thursday when I watch the BYU vs. TCU game. And then Homecoming is on Saturday, which I am really excited for if you haven't figured it out already!! Woo-hoo!!

The Forgotten Check

Wow.

So in Government today, my good friend Tara informed me that El Pollo Loco was waiting for me to pick up my check. HAHA.

Truly rare. I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to pick up my last check after quitting the job.

So I stopped by after school today and picked that thing up. It was good to easily make $60+ in one day. (Even though I made it months ago.)

Luke Shirts

In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Luke took pictures with the pre-school kids. One of the things the Pre-School kids get is a T-Shirt with their picture on it.

Three of the Jacoby kids (they are in our ward) are staying the night at our house while their parents are on a journey (I am not sure where.) Well, Luke, Brock (the one Luke's age), and I decided to each to put on one of Luke's shirts and to take a picture.

We look GOOD.

Back From Provo

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that Dad, Brent Nelson, and I all made it home safely!

The trip was really fun, and it was actually kind of sad for me to come home. (Probably because I have a busy week ahead of me with my new job/homecoming.) But it was really fun while it lasted, and it was excellent spending some high-quality time with some of my family members. :)

For those of you who don't know: BYU beat New Mexico 21-3. It was excellent, and I loved the atmosphere of the Lavell Edwards Stadium. It really makes me want to go back next year right before my mission. The Florida State game next September, perhaps? ;)

While we are on the subject: I called into work today to see when I work this week. They scheduled me to work on Wednesday and Thursday, which makes me pretty angry. I told my manager that I can't work on Thursdays, because I tutor and babysit those days!! This week, though, I am planning on going to Brent Nelson's house to watch the BYU vs. TCU game with him. AND I need to go over there anyways to get something from Angela's house for homecoming. Most of all--I still need to tutor on Thursday. So I am going to go talk to them tomorrow, because that's not going to work. It's probably mostly my fault for not reminding my manager that I can't work on Thursdays. :)

Well, like I said, I have a busy week ahead of me! I have multiple assignments due tomorrow and on Tuesday, and then I work at GameStop for the first time on Wednesday. Throughout the week, I need to get some stuff for homecoming (new tie, mainly), and Friday might be the only time I can do that. So yeah--hopefully I can get my Thursday back, because I could definitely use a break on Thursday from everything else going on the beginning of the week and the end of the week.

Well, until next time my friends! Enjoy the following shots:

On The Road Again

Well, my friends, I am going to sleep.

And then I am waking up.

And then I am going to school.

And then I am going to the bank.

And then I am coming home, loading up the car.

And then I am going to pick up Brent.

And then I am on the road again to head up to PROVO!! Woo-hoo!!


See everyone in a few days! :)

Our Journey To Boulder City

Homecoming is next weekend--October 18. Luckily enough, my side-kick and I have had the date planned out for a few weeks now, which is excellent. I remember last year--for both Homecoming and Prom--there was so much last-second planning. And good to not have any of that.

But alas! Today my very good friend, Jared Brummett (JB, for short), came over to my house. Our goal: Check out the area in Boulder City where we are going to do some fun activities for Homecoming. You see--there is a trail in Boulder City that leads to the top of a mountain, and that was our destination. (Yes, a mountain is a weird place to do something for homecoming, but just wait--it's going to be sweet.)

We drove up to the top today in my family's jalopy of a van, and it was excellent! You get a pretty sweet view of both Vegas and Boulder City, and I am really looking forward to seeing it at night. It truly is quite the sight!

At the top of the mountain, JB and I ate some Little Caesars pizza that he brought as a late b-day gift for me. And then he took me to McDonalds once we were done for milkshakes. Thank you, brother JB!

It was quite the adventure, and I am looking forward to next weekend!

My 18th Birthday

First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I got a lot of messages over the Internet today wishing me a happy birthday, along with a few phone calls from my family. It really helped me realize just how much I am loved, and I am truly blessed to have the family and friends that I do.

My eighteenth birthday was definitely a special one:

-My seminary teacher gave me a big chocolate fish, and I loved it. My seminary teacher said, "I am making you a fisher of men! Isn't that cool?" Haha. I thought it was pretty creative, and it reminded me of the scripture mastery Jeremiah 16:16 from the Old Testament. It was an excellent gift, as I will be preparing especially hard for my mission over the next year.

-After school and seminary, my friend Scotty and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings. It was delicious as usual. I then went to the nearest gas station and bought myself a drink and a candy bar as a birthday gift to myself. :)

-In the mail, I got a little package from my sister Cynthia. She gave me a book on how to be an "extra-ordinary missionary" by John Bytheway, and it was really sweet. :)

-I then went to Chuck E. Cheese's with Brent, Shayla, and Brighton, and it was really fun! I love my nephew Brighton, and I think spending some time with him, Shayla, and Brent was one of the best birthday gifts I've ever gotten. :) I am pretty excited for Brent and Shayla's new baby this month and--knowing me--I will tell everyone that Baby Nelson #2 is a late birthday gift to me from Brent and Shayla. ;)

-As we were leaving Chuck E. Cheeses, Brent and Shayla presented me with two gifts--a journal and a book called "The Nephiteologist." I am very grateful for the journal, because I've been in need of a new one, and I think writing in a journal over the next year will be an excellent way to prepare for journal-writing on my mission. :) "The Nephiteologist" book is super sweet, as well! When I got home, I read a lot of sweet stuff from it, and there was just a lot of stuff that made you say, "Really? Wow. That's tight!" When my Dad got home, I showed it to him, and he was pretty jealous. :)

-Last but not least--Bishop Stewart called me not too long ago,to wish me a happy birthday, and we talked for a little while. He said, "Well, the countdown finally begins!" I asked him about mission papers and when the earliest time I could start filling them out was. He told me that you can turn them in three months before your 19th birthday, and he usually gives us two months to fill everything out. And so he said I can start filling out papers and what not around April/May, and that was pretty sweet news! That's only six/seven months away. Yikes! :)

Again--I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and for the missionary gifts! :) It really means a lot to me, and I am very glad that I have family and friends who encourage and uplift me the way y'all do!

This Week

I needed a little break from homework, so I decided to write another post. :)

This week should be a good one:

-Tomorrow is my 18th birthday, and I am a little bit excited for that. It's going to be weird being eighteen. Only because it feels just like yesterday when I was fourteen, and it's kind of scary to think of fast time flew for me, and how fast time is going to fly for me. I mean--think about it: If the next four years fly by like the last four years did for me, I'm going to be off my mission and married before I know it. And that's just weird to think about, really.

-Tuesday and Thursday I tutor and babysit as usual. This time, though, I get to babysit until about 10 PM. That's going to be an adventure, and I am looking forward to it!

-Friday is the big day for me. I am heading up to Provo with my dad and Brent Nelson as soon as I get home from school (around 11 AM). I am really excited to go to my first BYU game in Provo, and it's going to be especially great, because I am in desperate need of a vacation right now. It's always been really good for me to get away from Henderson/Vegas for a couple of days. :)

So yeah, it should be a great week! The only con to the week is that I have a big government paper due the day I get back from Provo. I've always been a procrastinator, so I am not sure when I'm going to be able to do that. I'll try my best to do it through out the week, but something tells me I'm not going to have much success. :) I'll eventually get it done, though! No worries.

An Excellent Experience at McDonalds

My Dad and JoAnn went up to Utah this weekend for conference, leaving me and the brothers alone once again.

It's been excellent! We all watched/listened to General Conference together yesterday, and I loved it. I couldn't really decide what my favorite talk was, but I really enjoyed Elder Wirthlin's talk. His stories were hilarious.

In between sessions, I took my bros out to Burger King for some lunch. We got some stuff off the dollar menu, and then I talked myself into taking them to Sonic for dessert. That was excellent!

The best part of the day, though, was taking Timmy and Logan to Priesthood Session. I really enjoyed it this year, as usual. It's just always so special. And it was great taking Logan for the first time as well. All the talks were excellent--I espeically liked the three from the first Presidency.

An excellent experience happened during/after conference. During conference, the speakers talked about making sure we listen to the Spirit; they also mentioned Quoroms. Well, I was sitting there during the session, and the thought came to me: "We should go to McDonalds for ice cream after this session is over." I decided that probably wasn't an excellent idea because I had spent enough money already.

But the thought kept coming to me. And so I decided that we would go to the McDonalds next to our building after the session. I pulled into the parking lot, and Timmy asks me, "Why are we going inside?" And my reply was, "We have to, brother." And so we walk in.

I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, so before getting the ice cream, I decided to walk over to the bathroom. On my way to the bathroom, however, I heard a lady behind me say, "Are you LDS?" I told her that we were, but I was afraid of what she was going to say next--I thought she might criticize us or something; she had bags of luggage and I thought she was homeless. But the next thing that came out of her mouth: "I am LDS, and I've been waiting for someone like you."

She then told me her story. She was living in Boulder City, where she was converted many years ago. She told me that she moved back to her home town in Tennessee a few months ago, but that she was robbed of most her possessions, hence the reason she was back in Henderson.

She didn't know what Ward boundry she was supposed to be in or anything, so she wanted to speak with a bishop or relief society president. I gave her the number of our relief society president, and she was very grateful.

She told us that the two Elders that baptized her went on to become doctors. She asked us if any of us wanted to become doctors after our mission. I laughed and told her that I wanted to probably do something with computers. I told her that I was going on a mission in about a year, and she thought that was great. I shook her hand when we were finally done visiting with her, and she thanked us very kindly and told me she liked how firm my hand shake was. :)

The brothers and I got our ice cream, and on our way out, we ran into another person--one of my quorom members; his name is Brigham, and he is Hawaiian or something. He hasn't been to church in a while, and so I figured this would be an excellent time to talk to him and see how he was doing. We talked about Football (he plays for Green Valley), and it was great to know that he was doing well. He seemed very happy that we came and talked to him, and it felt great. He is a great, great guy, and I only hope that visiting with him last night will make a difference, perhaps making him more active soon. :)

On our way out of McDonalds, I told the brothers, "So that is why the Spirit was telling us to come to McDonalds, my friends." Logan and Timmy agreed, and both thought it was an excellent experience.