Sand Dunes

I thought Saturday was going to be really boring, but it turned out to be super fun! I seriously love my FHE group! I went over to Kamala and Ashley's apartment to get help with my Excel project and Jesse was over and wanted to go to the dunes with everyone! So after we all finished our homework we headed over to the dunes around 3! It was me, Kamala, Ashley, Valene, Stacy, and Jesse. The dunes are gorgeous! The minute I stepped on the freezing sand I felt like I was in Egypt! We walked for a ways and trudged up giant hills and found the perfect spot! We had fun jumping off the giant hills and landing in the soft sand! Being around all the sand reminded me of the poem "footprints in the sand"






















One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,other times there were one set of footprints. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering fromanguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints. So I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord,that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always. But I have
noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?” The Lord replied,“The times when you have seen only
one set of footprints in the sand,is when I carried you.” -Mary Stevenson)

So I had the idea for the perfect picture! Me and Kamala walked next to each other and then just Kamala walked up the hardest part-the hill. Symbolic of how the Lord helps us during the hardest parts of our life! I took the picture and added this quote! I want to make it bigger and put it in my room!

Here are some pictures from the rest of the day:

We tried to take this picture from a cool angle with the camera timer, but it was really windy and the sand was blowing in our eyes. I like it though!

Lovin' the Idaho wind! haha not!

We also had a rad time turning Ashley and Valene into Mermaids! Jess, wasn't so lucky, I tried to convince him to be a merman, but he didn't have quite that much confidence. haha! Sooo he started out as a muscle man, but ended up a sumo type blob.

The sand was SO cold! I thought my feet would freeze!

After the sand dunes we went to see UP at the dollar theater! It was so fun! Have I said how much I love byu idaho? haha! its the best!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have been bad about updating! So this is going to be a long post! Life has been crazy! Especially with midterms this week! I don't know how I have been handling all this stress! I will have grey hairs before the semester is over if it continues! I had 3 midterms/tests this week and one on Tuesday! 2 anat and phys.-1 over the cell and metabolism and all that fun stuff, and the other one was on the bones, we had to memorize over 200 terms each of which has 4 words such as the Posterior Superior Illiac Fossa, external acustic meatus, and the external occipital protrubrance, sound familiar Brooke?I also had a chem test. I think I spend more time in the testing center than in my apartment! Ok onto the fun stuff! The week before midterms I got a little distracted. Those who know me know how much I LOVE haunted houses! So far I have been to 3 which is a record since it is not even halloween yet!

Last Monday we had FHE which was really fun, we did the ropes course! It was scary at parts because you were so high up, but I had fun rock climbing up the poles and jumping off the top at the end!

On Wednesday we went country dancing with some of our FHE brothers and then decided to go to The Haunted Mill afterwards which was awesome! I had such a fun time! I do miss going to fear farm every year though, this one wasn't quite as scary. Just the usual people with masks chasing you over an unsteady bridge over rushing water haha! I was scared! especially since they could touch you! One of them put his arm around my shoulders, others grabbed my arms and legs and followed close behind you in dark tunnels. So close you could smell the bad breathe..ew! After that we went to the guys apartment and watched a lame scary movie called The Return? Something like that, and had brownies. Brownies are like a staple here at Idaho, I have them like 3 times a week! I don't mind though because they are my favorite dessert!

On Thursday we decided to hit up the Slaughter Mill! It was really fun as well, but not as scary as the Haunted Mill. There were people with flamethrowers and chainsaws, I am surprised the guy with the flamethrower hasn't accidently lit someone on fire because it really is pitch black in there! I think the scariest part of that one was at the end. We had to crawl through a tunnel and the floor below you is glass, at first you just pass over reptiles, but you come to this part where a lady is laying below you in the glass with her eyes closed and looks dead, then she opens her eyes and glares all freaky!

On Friday we had a bonfire! We went to a park and lit a bunch of wood and just told funny stories, it was fun! Then we went to our FHE brothers house and watched "Taken" and had brownies.


I have the best roommates!

On Saturday, I went to a study group for the first half of the day and then went to the ice caves with some girls and guys from my FHE group! It was the coolest thing ever! To get to them it was 3 miles of offroading on very bumpy dirt, I am glad to be alive! haha The cave was very narrow and low so we were crawling and scooting most of the time! We got soaked, but it was totally worth it because there were awesome ice slides everywhere! Later that night I went to Guitars Unplugged with Sozel's sister Laura! She is super fun and nice and it was so fun! Guitar Unplugged is basically a bunch of cool bands that tried out and they chose the best ones to perform. Then there was a fun dance afterwards. Then I met up with some girls and guys from my FHE group and played Spazz!!

This Monday we carved pumpkins for FHE! We had a lot of fun dancing to Backstreet boys, Nick Lachey, and Lady Antebellum! We had a competition between apartments, out apartment carved the witch from wicked and Me and Justine cooked the seeds! It was really fun, the other girls apartment carved a tree, and the boys carved a skull and then dropped it three stories to its fate.

Monday Night-Thursday Night was basically tutoring groups, studying, class, study groups, labs, and the testing center!

Thursday I meant to study for chem with Aubrey, but we got distracted and just talked for 2 hours. Then I skipped dance to study more and told myself I would just take a 30 minute power nap. 3 hours later I woke up in a panic and crammed before taking the 2 1/2 hour test! By the night my brain was fried so I had to have a little fun. We went to the Haunted mill again with our FHE brothers! It was scarier since I was forced to be in the front for part of it! I looked behind me to make sure everyone was still there one time and when I turned back around some creepy smeigal guy from Lord of the Rings was in my face! I think I jumped a foot and woke up the whole neighborhood!

Today has been a long day of studying the bones and taking a test. Tonight I went to Idaho Falls with Vicki and we went dress shopping! Then we came home and ate brownies and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , My favorite movie, we watched it with Kara and her fiance Ryan. I love byui!! I am having a blast! I miss everyone at home and am excited to see everyone at Christmas!

Conference Weekend

I have the best sisters! Last weekend I rode down to Utah to visit Melissa! I got a ride with a girl off the ride board. Thankfully, she was normal! This is the conversation I had with my dad right before the trip:
D: Does she have a reliable car?
B: Daaddd, I am sure she does...
The next day I meet her in the parking lot of the Hinkley, I am not sure who she is, but surely she is not the girl with the 1985 teal Honda hatchback... Yep. As we turn onto the freeways she says "lets say a prayer" she told me to say it so I said it and afterwards she enthusiatically remarks "ok good, now we can relax, this cars livin' on a dream and a prayer!" Lets just say I am surprised we even made it out of town, haha! Everytime we entered onto a freeway she put the petal to the metal and the car sounded like it was a rocketship about to explode, it probably looked like one too! haha but I'm not complaining I am grateful that I got a ride to visit Meliss!!
While we were driving we saw numerous BYUI students heading up to Utah for conference as well. One of which was a car with 2 guys who were holding up a sign with their phone number on it. One of the girls made a sign with her number on it and sped up until we were even with the car. They called her phone and as she was talking, I realized that they looked familiar. I figured out that they were in my ward!
We made it to Ogden, and Melissa picked me up at a Best Western. We then went to a fun bonfire with her friends and roasted marshmallows!
The next day Melissa, being the amazing cook that she is, made swetish pancakes with raspberries and coconut syrup!! It was SO good! We then watched conference, longboarded, and ate at cafe rio! We went shopping and went to costco where I got enough food to last for a couple weeks! That night we watched The Bourne Identity and ate pizookies! The next day we headed out bright and early to try and get tickets to conference! We made two signs: One said we needed tickets and the other was slightly desperate : "from out of state and have never been" haha It worked like a charm, even though we were standing by tons of other people with signs, we only had to smile big and within 20 minutes we had 6 tickets-3 for the morning session, and 3 for the afternoon!! I was really excited, going to conference was an amazing experience, there is such a cool spirit there, I want to go every year now! Afterwards we had a really good lunch on temple square and then drove back to Odgen. Melissa made the best dinner ever!-honey-lime enchiladas!! I miss her good cooking now that I am back at my apartment, but she sent me home with my fav bread, raspberries, and the leftovers! Melissa is so fun, nice, and an amazing cook! I had such a fun time!

Another Great Week at BYU-I!!

I love byui! When we were in 8th grade we would all talk about where we wanted to go to college and my friend Natalie always said she wanted to go to byui, I was like "psh no flip flops are you kidding me? I would never go there!" Well....I am here and its amazing! No flip flops and cold weather is a small price to pay for the amazing atmosphere that is felt. I have the best roommates, a cool FHE group, and a fun ward! I love how there is always a spiritual feeling here and how everyone is so happy and says hi to everyone!

Last night was super fun! We went country dancing which I thought was not going to be that fun, it was!! I went with some girls in my FHE group and one of my roommates and the guys from our FHE group came. There are lots of cute boys here, which is good haha! We stayed country dancing for an hour and then went over to swing dancing. Fun, but country dancing was better! Then we went out to the agricultural gardens which are super cool, there are pillars, steps, gardens, fountains, ponds, and huge trees and played sardines! Then at about 11:00 it started to snow!!!! yaa!! It was so pretty to watch the flakes fall from the sky! It was my first time actually seeing them fall! This morning I woke up and it was SO cold! I don't like to picture what its going to be like in December! My classes are going okay, I feel like I am in over my head, I don't know why I thought that I would be able to handle anat & phys, chem, and math, along with other classes and still have a social life! Its all good, I miss everyone at home, but am also learning a lot about living on my own!

CES Fireside

We had the coolest fireside last sunday it was broadcast to BYU-I. Elaine S. Dalton spoke and I wanted to share some of the amazing things she said and some of my thoughts!

*She spoke a lot about how we live in a time where we must lead the world in a return to virtue. She said, If we do not have integrity we cannot have virtue.


* Integrity in our dress, in our swim wear-Satan tries to tempt us into thinking that we need to show off our bodies, how we choose to dress when those who we know would disapprove of our appearance arn't there to see us. We must be worthy to enter the temple.


* There were no neutral spirits in the war in heaven and there can be none now. She said we are an organic generation, our society takes measures to stop pollution and contamination of water, but we allow it in our media.


I love being at a church school! The devotionals and firesides are all so inspirational, I think starting each class with a prayer is so cool! Calling our professors brother and sister is a little weird, but I am getting used to it haha!

College Life

College is super fun! I am really excited because I just got into a biology class that I was trying to get into!! We left on Friday the 4th and visited Melissa and Sam for a few days! We had fun longboarding, shopping, eating out, and hiking! Their apartment is so cute I loved it there!

Monday the 7th:
We left for Idaho. When we arrived I started to get very nervous, we checked into my apartment and got my key. My mom and sisters helped me unpack and set up my stuff! My roommates are all so nice! Then we went to a BBQ which was really kinda gross, then we went to Wal-mart which was crazy and full of college students and their parents. Then we went to Albertsons and my dad helped pay for some of my groceries! We then went to "Get Connected", the parents sat in a meeting and the students split into I-groups depending on where they lived. I met some really nice girls and we played games and got to know everyone. Then we went to dinner at Sozel's sisters house which was super good, my last homecooked meal. Since then I have been living on tortellini, cereal, and turkey sandwiches. We then went to good ol' Best Western and went in the hot tub. I spend my last night with my family.

Tuesday the 8th
We woke up bright and early and went to breakfast at a place called "Frontier Pies" it was really good, but I couldn't eat much and was near tears because I knew in a few hours my family would leave and I would be on my own. We went back to my apartment and we all cried. Then my family left, and I went to "Get Connected" The whole day was filled with info about byui how to study effectively, and spiritual messages. We played more games on the field, ate lunch, and did a service project. We then had a little break before we returned for some good chinese food and a dance. I really don't like dances thankfully neither did my new friends, so we only stayed for a little because it was freezing!!!

Wednesday the 9th
We had a morningside and then split into groups depending on our careers and were told about the classes we should take and stuff. Then I went home ate lunch and took a nap. Me and Talia went and found our classes so we wouldn't look like totally lost freshman the next day. The byui campus is so pretty! They have all these gardens and fountains! Then we went back to our apartments. We then went to I-night! It was so fun! we played laser tag and met up with Kamala and Ashley and watched people play the dating game. It was so funny! Then we got cotton candy and went to part of a dance. The me and Talia went to the Kirby Heyborne concert/comedy. It was super funny! It cool how much stuff there is to do here!

Thursday the 10th
My first day of classes! My chemistry lab was cancelled and so I slept in until 9 and then went to a class called global hotspot about pakistan which was really cool, I have since had to drop it so I can focus more of my time on bio and chem! Then I went to my first ballet class which was so good! The teacher is like 65 years old! She is the cutest thing ever and so nice, she danced in New York during her glory days and is such a good teacher. She wears legwarmers, and ballet shoes everyday with her grey hair in a bun haha!.

Friday the 11th

I went to and early morning chemistry class at 7:45, The teacher is extremely difficult and informed us that we must study at least 8 hours a week if we want to get a C! There goes my social life! I then went to a jazz class with an extremely mean teacher that I planned to drop as soon as I found out if I made it into biology or not. I then went to biology and it was really interesting I think I am going to enjoy that class a lot. There were tons of people who wanted to be added also so I prayed that I would be able to get in it. I came home and wrote and email to the teacher and was added! Ya! An answer to prayer! I then did some laundry and cami came over. It was fun to see a familiar face! Then I went to a party with my roommate.

Saturday 12-18th

I went on a hike to cress creek which was kinda fun, it looked like Arizona, very hot and dry and most of it was paved. But we still had a good time! I have been really busy with school work. I have Chem everyday, but Thursdays which is our 2 hour chem lab, I have math 3 days a week, Book of Mormon, Ballet-which is so fun! I have biology 3 days a week Mon, Wed, Fri, On friday I have biology for 1 hour and then a 2 hour lab. So I have been keeping pretty busy. I think my hardest class is bio, right now we are working on cells, to give you some idea of what they are named here is one out of like 15: keritinized stratified squamous epithilim. We are also doing some complex chem in bio so it is killing my brain! I usually study 4 hours (at least) outside of class. I can't believe its only been a week! We went to our ward for the first time! Everyone seems really nice! We also went to FHE and it was this barbeque. We are going to meet out FHE groups on Sunday! I hope we have a good one! Tonight I am may be going to ballroom dance or a birthday party or both haha!

Here are some pictures of my apartment and Utah:

My Dream

Someday, I would LOVE to have a major in archeology and travel to Egypt and discover old tombs and pyramids. That has always been my dream! I wish that BYU-Idaho had a program with archeology, but they don't so for now I will work towards a nursing degree. I am so mixed up right now about what to major in. I mean I am signed up for all the nursing pre-reqs, but I am still not very sure if I can handle inserting IV's into people veins. EW. My parents do not think that it is practical to major in something like archeology because I will always be traveling which is probably true, but right now I just want to do the spontanious thing and travel the world! I have always been interested in the old traditions of the people who lived in Egypt forever ago. Someday, I will discover lost cultures in Ancient Egypt and Pompeii! Like that internship that Bridget goes on to Turkey in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2? That will be me someday! haha