This Weekend

This last week was another special one, but the weekend was even better, which really surprised me.

On Friday, I was in such a bad mood because of some things that were bothering me. And then I figured out that my Dad was losing his job, and I that didn't really help me at all. Friday was starting to become one of the worst days I had had in a long time.

But as I was working downstairs at JoAnn's daycare, I had a lot of time to think about what I could do to make the day better. I decided then that I was going to go out there and do something good for someone.

I started it off with the Shills as soon as I got off work. The Shills have been extra good to me this school year, and I have tried to repay them in anyway that I can. Brother and Sister Shill were out of town on Friday, and so I went over to their house and checked on the rest of the family to see if they were doing alright. We talked for a little bit, and then I offered to buy them some pizza. And so my buddy Megan and I went to Little Caesar's and got some Hot 'n' Readys, and we took them back to their house. I was starting to feel better already!

Shortly after dropping Megan and the pizza back off at their house, I made my way to Timmy's volleyball game. It's been cool this year to go out there and support my younger brother. Even though Timmy's team lost, it felt good to go out there and cheer him on! After the game, Timmy, Tara, and I went to Subway, and I bought them some footlongs. Again, it felt good to do something fun/good for someone else. By this time, my day was saved, and I couldn't believe that I was in such a bad mood earlier!

The missionaries then came over after Subway to have another discussion with Tara. They gave a lesson on fasting, and they challenged Tara to fast on Sunday. She accepted, and then the missionaries left. Tara and I talked for a little bit, and then I took her home because I was way too tired for my own good. However, when I got home from taking Tara home, I was up for another two or so hours because my friends Jeffrey and Robert came to visit me, and while they were away with my basketball that I let them borrow, I talked to some friends online. I still got plenty of sleep, though! :)

Saturday was sweet. I woke up and took Timmy to v-ball practice and then I went and picked up our friend Skyler. Skyler and I went to the church to help clean, and that was a lot of fun! We went to McDonalds after that, and then we went back to Foothill to watch Timmy practice; it was sweet!

After all of that, I was pretty bored, so I went over to the Shills' house, and hung out for a little bit. Megan and I looked at a lot of my Facebook pictures, and it made me realize that I have so many ridiculous pictures on there. Some of them made me laugh quite hard!!

Sunday was the best. Church was AMAZING. I can't remember the last time I felt the Spirit so strong. It was fast and testimony meeting, and I found myself up there once again. I bore my testimony on service/giving and keeping the commandments. Tara, once again, enjoyed it, which was awesome. A lot of powerful testimonies were shared, and it was awesome!

It was also the fifth Sunday, and so the Young Women and the Young Men were combined. One of the YW leaders gave a lesson on finding a testimony for ourselves. It was an awesome lesson, and then she gave us the chance to bear our testimonies when she was done. I wasn't planning on bearing my testimony for the second time in one day, but Megan (sitting behind me) kept kicking my chair, and so I decided to go up there. This time around, I shared how important it is to have a testimony with you at all times, and then I encouraged everyone not to wait to obtain a strong testimony of the Gospel. (Megan said the testimony was "deep" and that was good, because I wasn't quite sure what I was going to say when I first got up there. Haha.) A lot of excellent testimonies were also shared here, too, and I was proud of Tara going up there to say what she had to say! It was just an awesome day at Church!!

After church, Logan and I went and collected Fast Offerings. The Shills' envelope was in our bag, and so we decided to save them for last since we would probably go inside to visit for a while. We did, and they were eating some lunch. Sister Shill offered us some, but I was still fasting, and so I had to politely say no thanks. I told them I would come back later to get a root beer float, though. Haha.

Back at home, I decided to work on a little story that I had been working on for Megan. It was a story about a spoon we had created, and I thought it was pretty sweet! I ended up finishing it, and then I took it over to their house before going to an Eagle Scout court of honor. She and her family enjoyed it! Good. :)

And....that was my weekend!! ;) Here are a few sample pictures from the story that I wrote for my friend Megan:

Memory Lane: October 17, 2004 (AKA "Teacher")

Haven't done one of these in a while. It's crazy to think that it has already almost been five years since I was ordained a Teacher. Time really does fly by! I'll be an Elder before I know it.

Da Journal,

So the day was good ya know. Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I didn't find it completely necessary, considering I did not a thing. As for today:

Church was very nice. *Loves church* Church is basically the highlight of the week. :-) Sacrament meeting was very nice. Sam Purser sang a nice hymn and it was on of those hymns where the spirit knocks you down. A great feeling, I must admit.

So you know, I went to class. We had a lesson on forgiveness. (A very fine lesson. One I really need to work on too, considering I can't forgive a lot of people. (Not yet anyways.))

In priesthood, I was ordained Teacher. What a great moment it was! I feel older. haha. Perhaps soon my age will match my looks. (People still think I am 16, dangit!) Very nice, it was though.

After church we had dinner and scripture studies! It was great. I like Dad's grilled cheese. After that, we went to Timmy Brumley's Eagle Scout thing. It was nice. Lots o' refreshments! Mmmmm. COOKIES! Kyle and I also talked at this Eagle Scout thing. haha. I also talked to a few buddies of mine that I haven't seen since the ward splitting. It was great.

And then I got home, and now it is now. I am talking to my sister Kerstin and my buddy Brittany. I think I should continue talking, and finish this one up though. So take it easy journal! Wish me good luck, for I have report cards tomorrow! ;-)

B.D.N.

One Of The Greatest Weekends Ever

Well, I am sorry this is about twenty-four minutes late, but it has been a long day! ;) I made it home from Provo safely last night, and the trip home was long but fun. Luke stayed up in Utah with Mom for track break, so I had to drive home by myself. As soon as I got on the freeway, I was dead tired, and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it; however, via 88 oz. of Mountain Dew, I was able to stay wide awake the whole way home, even if it meant ten stops to use the bathroom. Also, snow was falling like crazy between Scipio and Beaver, which was nice to see one last time before spring sets in 100%! :)

As for my actual vacation in Provo...Wow. What a fun and emotional weekend! It was definitely one of my most memorable trips, and I will never forget it. Luke and I left after school on Wednesday, and the rest of the trip looked somewhat like this:

Wednesday
-Arrived in Provo around 7 PM.
-Went to Macy's with TAB, Chris Berry, and Luke to get Kong Kones.
-Watched Taken with Chris.
-Ate Pizza Hut, caught up with Chris, and laughed harder than I had in a long time!
-Watched a few online clips of Dragon Ball Evolution. Worst. Movie. Ever.

Thursday
-Watched BYU vs. Texas A&M basketball game; BYU lost.
-Shot Harry Potter basketball shots! Made it all the way to the Half-Blood Prince shot!

(Note: There is a church building right across the street from Chris Berry's house, and they have a basketball hoop in the parking lot. The hoop is in the middle of a bunch of parking lines, and Chris decided a few years ago that he would come up with a Harry Potter basketball club. For example, if you could make it from the third line (pretty much a three point shot), you were in the Prisoner of Azkaban club; if you made it from the seventh line (pretty much a full court shot), you were in the Deathly Hallows club.)

-Took Luke to Mom's house.
-Went to Applebees with TAB and Chris; delicious!!
-TAB spent the night at the Berry's house, and we fell asleep to the classic Willie The Sparrow.

Friday
-Attempted the Deathly Hallows shot; failed!
-Watched more March Madness (AKA Utah getting destroyed!)
-Looked at hilarious Youtube videos!
-BYU Volleyball Game #1! We beat Long Beach State in a fifth game 15-7.
-TAB and I raced to the movie theatre after the game to witness Knowing. It was a pretty good movie until toward the end when it got all religious and what not. Really stupid ending, and I don't really reccomend the movie, really.

Saturday
-TAB, Brian Davis and I went to Chuck E. Cheeses.
-Went to McDonalds twice--once in the morning with Chris, again with TAB and Brian after Chuck E. Cheeses.
-Attempted Deathly Hallows Shot. GOT IT!!!
-Watched a little bit more March Madness with TAB and Brian!
-BYU Volleyball game #2! BYU beat Long Beach State again in a fifth game 15-13. Great, great game!
-Went to Costa Vida with TAB and Brian after the game!

Of all days, though, Sunday was definitely the most memorable, though. I can't remember if I pointed it out yet or not, but Chris is my first really, really close friend (other than my brothers) to go on his mission. He absolutely nailed his farewell talk, and I could barely sing the closing hymn "Called To Serve" because I was leaking like mad. It is truly bitter-sweet, though. Yeah, you shed tears because you are going to miss them, but at the same time, after you are done crying, you remember what missionary work is all about. And you can't help but be proud of your friend and the decision they have made. I know that I am very proud of Chris and the decision he has made, and I know he is going to be an excellent employee for the Lord the next two years as he serves full-time in New York! :)

In other news...I got a haircut, and I am pretty much bald now. Check it out! :)

NEXT WEEK!!

Before I write about the subject of this post (NEXT WEEK!!), I just want tell everyone that Tara joined us at Stake Conference today, and it ended up being a Nevada Regional Broadcast, and she got to hear President Monson for the first time! She really enjoyed it, and she has been doing well.

While this week is going to be pretty busy with a lot of school assignments due and what not, I am really looking forward to next week! Next Wednesday, I am leaving after school to drive up to Provo to spend some time with some of my favorite people--the Berry family.

Chris Berry's farewell is on March 22, but I am going extra early so that he and I can get together one last time before we go our separate ways. Chris is eight months older than me, so that means we will go almost three years without seeing each other! It is truly a bitter-sweet feeling, though. I am very proud of Chris and the choice he has made! And I look forward to spending some time with him next week.

My good friend and cousin, TAB, will also be receiving his mission call later this week, and I look forward to going up there to spend some time with him as well! Chris, TAB, and I spent some time together last summer, and it'll be fun to re-unite and spend some time with each other again!

Can't wait!!

First MWC 3-peat!

I just want to congratulate the BYU basketball team on the first-ever Mountain West Conference Three-peat!! :)

GO COUGARS!! *Looks forward to the tournament next week!*

Missionary Update

On Friday, Tara came over for her second discussion, and it was great. We all read from 2 Nephi 31 with Tara, and it was about baptism. The missionaries were amazed how Tara had already read so much; they said they'd never seen anything like it on their missions. (She took notes on what she read, she wrote down questions that she had, etc.--all on sticky notes that she put in her scriptures and what not.) Tomorrow the missionaries are coming over at 5PM for PB&J sandwiches, and then we are going to talk about The Plan of Salvation. It's gonna be awesome!

Tara's first full day of church today was awesome. She originally got work off on Sunday to come to church, but yesterday she told me she had to work, and I was a little scared...But she told me it wasn't until one; so she was able to attend all three hours, and it was awesome! Fast and testimony meeting wasn't new to Tara because we went to sacrament meeting while we were in Provo on February 1. I think I mentioned it in my post about our Provo trip, but I got up and bore my testimony up there because I thought it was be good for Tara to hear my testimony.

Anyways...I bore my testimony again today, and Tara loved it. She thought it was cool that Timmy, Logan, and I all help with the sacrament. I introduced Tara to some of my leaders and to a few other people in the ward, and they made her feel very welcome. *appreciates*

We went to Sunday school next, and I think Tara really enjoyed it. We have a good teacher, and we learned about the difference between the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchezidek Priesthood; an excellent lesson for both my class and for Tara! We learned how the Priesthood was actually restored to these Latter-Days, and I thought it was just a great lesson for Tara to be there for.

From what I hear, Tara really enjoyed young women's, and I don't doubt it! The young women in the ward, as well as the leaders, are so nice, and I know they made her feel welcome. Sister Scott, one of the leaders, told me that Tara gave a lot of input on the lesson, and that she really enjoyed having her there. I heard the leaders telling Tara that they would see her Wednesday, so I am assuming they asked her to come to mutual on Wednesday. But...Tara figured out she had to work this Sunday, so she won't be able to make it this week; but she plans on coming next week! :)

So...Things have been going well, and I don't know that I have ever been as proud of a friend as I am Tara. This last week has been something else!!