Summer Lovin'

So this summer I have been super busy! With work? Yes, but mostly just having fun! We have done some really fun things that I have never done. Here we are at some hot springs in Midway, UT. How do hot springs form? They are so random! Many spots in the springs were scolding hot, but we found the perfect area that was hot tub temperature. It was perfect!

This is a picture of me, Kait (one of my best friends, and roommate), and Amber (my new found and long lost friend who has gimped her way through the summer along side me). Physical activity doesn't scare us away! We have gone to everything and participated quite a bit. It has been such a great opportunity getting to know her! I can't believe it has taken us this long to find each other b/c we get along so great, and this summer would not have been the same without her! Lots of laughs and fun. Here we are at FHE playing with sticks and leaves while everyone else is playing soccer. Who's had more fun? I don't think I need to answer that...

Quite the story lies behind this picture... all I have to say is, "I didn't do it..." Ok, ok, maybe I was mostly responsible...We were going to deliver a few cupcakes to our cute neighbors, and before I knew it I had cake and frosting all over the place, including up my nose! In fact, there was so much up my nose that when I tried to breath I couldn't and it just got sucked up even more! Lets just say that I could smell chocolate for aquite a while...The sad part of the story is that I couldn't run away from the madness with my gimp leg! Good thing I wasn't attacked by a crazy man, it was just a crazy girl!... Gotta love roommates!

A Tribute to My Sisters

Is anyone in the mood for some cheese? I hope so b/c this is going to be one of those blog posts that is really cheesy... but I mean all of it! So I have been thinking a lot lately about life and my situation such as the family I've been put in, being raised in the church, having parents who were married in the temple, attending BYU, etc. etc.

As a part of that I have been thinking a lot about my sisters and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude for all of them! Kristen, Laurel, Andria, Erin, and Carrie. What would I do without my sisters? Brothers are great, but there is a bond between sisters that is so much stronger. We relate to each other more, laugh more, and I just love you all. I wish you all lived as close as Laurel and Carrie b/c I miss spending time with you. You truly are my best friends and I'm so grateful to have you in my life forever.

I look up to you so much and have so many hopes of becoming the wife and mother that all of you portray. I think in many ways we all have carried on traits that Mom posesses, and I'm so grateful for that as well. I love you Mom! You sure did a good job in raising us :) I have many goals to achieve within my own family that originated from things I have observed you do in your own. Thank you for being strong women of the church and living worthily of temple marriage and other blessings. I am so grateful for our family and for the relationships and unity that we share. Yes, this is all so cheesy, but I sure do love you all!

Spiritually Strengthening

Lately I have had a lot of time on my hands at work to do whatever I want. I have decided that I want to set aside some of that time to study my scriptures, and then read a conference talk from the Conference Ensign that came out in May.
I testify of the divine inspiration that the leaders of The Church receive when preparing their addresses. I know that these are "the scriptures of our times", and we should read, review, and study them often. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this, and I have truly felt a difference in my life, whether great or small, it has made a difference. I am so grateful for our leaders and for a living prophet. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today, and he will never lead us astray. I know that the words of the prophet and apostles are the words of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I urge all of you to take the time to read these talks and study them. It truly will make a difference, and it has made a difference in my life and has been spiritually strengthening to me!

Update

Yesterday I went to Trent's office again for some more laser therapy. The swelling was down enough that we were pretty sure he could figure out what is wrong with my knee. After testing and all of that fun stuff he says that my knee is testing as though it's meniscus problem, and no torn ligaments! (That's good news). So my official diagnosis is a sprained MCL, torn meniscus, and much to my surprise I also sprained my ankle! haha. I left the office laughing out loud to myself b/c I had no idea that I sprained my ankle. Here I am walking around on a sprained ankle and I am completely oblivious to it all. I have noticed that my ankle has been massively swollen, but I thought it was a side effect of the knee. Nope!
Today the swelling is down a lot and I can see all of the bruising from my ankle. What baffles me is, how in the world is it physically possible to sprain the knee and ankle at the same time? haha, quite the image. So... NO SURGERY! Thank goodness. I'm walking w/o crutches mostly and my knee looks somewhat the size it should be. I'll be running in no time!

Bonfire!

My injury hasn't kept me from doing some pretty fun things! This weekend a bunch of friends, including the great Audge and Kat, and I went up Provo Canyon to South Fork Park and had ourselves a bonfire. It was tons of fun, and there were lots of fun people there. Much to my pleasure, Amber De Groot came along who is also currently on crutches from another soccer injury. It felt good to have a twinner there along with me! We rocked the crutches and have even scheduled to have a race this next week. May the best woman win. Hopefully that'll end up being me since I have more experience on crutches...

Not only did we rost marshmallows and make the traditional s'mores, we also made s'mores with reeses peanut butter cups instead of the hershey chocolate. It was deluctable!! Another famous tradition that Audrey and I continue to carry on is roasting starbursts. If you're a starburst lover then you have got to try it! They are soft and chewy with a slightly hardened shell. Mmm Mmm Good! Someone also took the liberty of bringing root beer in the old fashioned glass bottles. I couldn't help but feel like we were all getting drunk, yes, a bunch of BYU students getting drunk... especially me! Drunk on fun that is :) So we had to take a picture, but have no fear, it's only root beer! The other crazy, yet fun thing that we did was throw powder sugar on the fire. Who knew it would be so much fun! It was definitely something that Bryce, a friend in the ward, discovered at Scout Camp and wanted all of us to share the fun. So the night was a success! I planned the whole shpeal, then got injured, but had some pretty great people to help me carry the plan through. Another successful night in provo!

Soccer, a Trip to the ER, and Crutches

So I have to say that I have not been taking very good care of my body in the fact that I have been playing way too much and wearing it out. My biggest complaint has been these darn shin splints that have gone away for about a week and then came back even worse. So my intramural soccer team had a game on Wednesday that I had decided I wasn't going to play unless we lacked in the number of girls on our team. When I arrived I was feeling pretty good and decided to play regarless. I hate sitting on the sideline and watching! After halftime I went back in as defense and with about 10 min. left in the game I was running toward a girl to take the ball from her. I don't recall specifically how it happened, but all of a sudden I heard 3 pops in my knee, my knee gave inward, and I collapsed on the field. Pain, pain, and more pain. I noticed a circle of feet around me when I came to, and as you all know, I hate attention. I immediately tried to stand up and walk off the field, but instead I was all of a sudden lifted and carried off by a couple of really cute boys :)
I had no idea what had just happened, but decided that we'd better check it out. I went to the ER, got a few x-rays, and told the doctor that I DO lortab... haha. I was so out of it. I quickly assured him that I'm not a drug addict and what I meant to say was that I've had lortab. He luckily believed me and assured that I don't look like someone who is on drugs. Phew! My innocence pays off! It's been a rough couple days, but with the help of Trent and some Laser Therapy, things look like they'll be ok. Still too early to tell, but it's probably a sprained MCL, or another ACL problem... on the healthy knee might I add. I'm beginning to think that I'm going to die young of knee failure. Seriously.
The thing is, that I hurt emotionally more than I do physically. I was finally feeling like staying in Provo for the summer was the right decision, and I was having a blast. Now I am on crutches and I have to watch from the sideline. Yuck. I am sick of knee problems, and I just want to run freely without any pain. That's what I'm praying for. I am so grateful for a healthy body, and to have a body at all! I know I'll make it through just fine, and I have tons of great people around me to help me and support me. So add this one to the book of Tiffany injuries. No pain no gain right?

Fugitive

This weekend I played the roll of a fugitive! For all you who are questioning whether I am a trouble maker and really was running from the cops or not, fugitive is a game that we college students play for entertainment. Pretty much in a nutshell, you pick a destination, and everyone tries to get to that destination without getting caught by the cops. The cops are a few players who are driving around in cars. We played 6 different routes, and I swear I ran at least 4 miles. We ran ALL OVER the place!
About half way through the night it started raining quite hard, and we were drenched! But this was all part of the fun. During one of our last rounds I got separated from the group and was on my own. I was dripping water everywhere, and trying to hold my pants up as I ran. Unfortunately, I had a mishap. As I was running through an apartment complex, at almost full speed, I failed to see a small step up. Yes, that's right, I tripped on it with great force and skidded across the wet cement face first. It looked as if I was trying to play on a slip-n'-slide. I thought I was dead. As I brought myself to stand up I checked for blood and didn't see any. Then I forced myself to continue running. I didn't have my phone, and if I was going to stay there lying helplessly on the ground, no one would have ever found me. I would have washed away with the rain. haha! I luckily walked away with only a scraped up elbow, two bruised knees, and a bruised palm. My face still looks great! But all in all, it was an incredible night, and I miss playing in the rain! It sure felt good to be a kid again :)