Friday, September 17, 2010

Duck, Duck, Goose?!

No geese, just ducks! Sunday was a great day for us! I guess I'm speaking for both Rob and I. But I take full responsibility and think he'd agree that it was a good day filled with some great church meetings, general authorities galore, including President Packer, Elder Holland, Elder Snow of the 70, and Elder Scott, dinner with Audge and Matt, sugar!, and feeding the crazy ducks at the duck pond.
If you haven't ever been to the duck pond, and you are in Provo, ever, then I highly suggest stopping by. They are quite entertaining and it's a cheap activity! Let me rephrase that... it's a FREE activity! So get on over there and have yourself some fun :)
Rob admired the ducks. JK. He fed them, I'm just too slow with the camera. This particular duck was one of a kind. You will see why this is so later in the post.
Feeding the ducks! It was great fun as long as they kept their distance! And they seemed to know what was good for them b/c we didn't have any problems.
Who knew that ducks could do cool tricks? Maybe this duck was mistaken and thought he was a dog. Silly duck. He would just sit at our feet and wait for the bread. He must have thought we liked him or something. I guess he was right cause I just couldn't help but feed him continually b/c he would perform! What a talented duck. Lesson to learn from this blog: go to the duck pond when looking for some good entertainment and find this duck! And sorry, I have this bad habit of filming sideways thinking that it'll film tall and stay that way.

The Man on the Street

It's sometimes the tiny little things that others do which make the biggest impact on a person. Today it was a little old man walking his dog down my street. He didn't see me or even know that I was there. But as I drove behind him and then parked in the driveway I couldn't help but continue to watch him. Every single time a car drove by in either direction he would smile and wave. I'm sure he didn't know all, if any of these people, but he didn't seem to care.
Sometimes all we need is a little kindness from a stranger to put a smile on our face and change our day from ok to great. Even though I personally did not get a smile and wave from this old man, he brightened my day through the kindness he showed others. It was simple, but influential. Thank you to the man on the street. Show a little kindness today. Smile at a stranger, hold open the door for someone, say hello while passing on the street or in the store. You never know the impact you may have on someone today. Don't let it pass you by.

Tender Mercy

So I just had to publicly thank my two angels that saved me this week. On Monday evening I had a class that was literally at the complete and utter opposite end of campus from my apartment. It's usually about a 20 walk to get there, if you're going fast, but that day it was at least a 30 min. walk for me b/c of my knee injury.
As I was sitting in class I got a massive stabbing pain in my stomach area. It progressively got worse to the point where I was hunched over in my seat, couldn't sit up straight, and occasionally it felt as though someone were taking a knife and stabbing my. I would literally jolt b/c it was so excruciating. I text a friend who I thought would be able to pick me up, but no luck. I tried to call someone on the walk home to take my mind off of it, but no luck. I only got to the crosswalk outside of my class bldg. when someone honked at me. Kaitlin and Jordan. I waved and forced a smile as I walked on. Jordan then yelled at me and asked if I wanted a ride. I was overjoyed with relief and gratitude. My two little angels had no idea the situation I was in or the tiny prayer I had said that I wouldn't be in pain and walk all the way home. I don't know if they knew of the sacrifice it was or how much it meant to me, but it was a tender mercy in my life. I am so grateful for tender mercies and for those who take the time to listen to promptings or kind thoughts. Thanks Kaitlin and Jordan! I sure love you :)

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Summer Catch-Up

So I have been horrible at updating my blog, but it's all in good reason. I have had quite the busy, but best summer ever! I thought instead of writing a bunch of long blog posts on every event I would just catch you all up on what I have been up to. You can probably see the rest for yourself ;) However, these pics are in no particular order. In fact, they are very much out of chronological order.
Rob and I met at EFY as counselors, and the rest is history :) What you see is all you need to know ha ha. One night we couldn't decide what to do, and then decided to go to a Bees game! It was so fun! And we ran into Brooke & Adam (another EFY couple, and good friends!). It was Rob's first baseball game ever, can you believe that?
We also went boating. What an adventure! We pretty much just rode the tube the whole time, but did a little water skiing and wake boarding. Let me rephrase that... I tubed the whole time and others did skiing and wake boarding. I tried skiing, but just couldn't get up! At least I tried.
Real Salt Lake soccer game! I bought 10 tickets for $50.00 thinking that I'd use them all this summer. I then did EFY and never had time to use my tickets! So here we are enjoying at least one game. Go Real! Also a first for Rob.
The zoo! And not just the zoo... but the new baby elephant, Zuri! She is soooo cute. If you haven't gone to see her, then you must! We sat and watched her for probably 15 minutes just being a baby and playing in the mud. I officially want to play in the mud now.
My last 2 weeks of EFY I had the chance to work as a BC (building counselor). It was a blast! For our service project we were known as the service 5, and here we are in our masks. We were on a mission for service!
Another picture of our great team :) Cute family, eh?
My last week as a counselor and I got the best co in the world... AGAIN! Someone was looking out for me :) What a great week! Sure do like him!
In Taylorsville, Rob and I discovered a secret door to the roof. And the guy working on top let us take a glance!
My best friend's wedding! Audge and Matt finally sealed the deal :) And I got to be a bridesmaid! She was a gorgeous bride, and I loved being able to be a part of it! Love you Audge!

Well, I did much more than just this this summer, but these are some of the highlights. I had the best summer imaginable, and it turned out so much better than I had ever hoped! Thanks to all those who helped this to be possible. Now it's back to school, homework, work, and responsibility. Yuck! I want to be a kid forever!