My Missionaries

So I was gonna do this chronologically, but I don't know how well that's gonna go so here's just some random thoughts as I was writing down things I wanted to talk about.
Basically I have no friends because their all on missions. Luckily, I love them and what they're doing so I can wait. And be lonely for a while. But here's a synopsis on my lovely missionaries!

HPen

Haley is on a mission in Richmond, Virginia. She left in November and is just absolutely loving it! She spent some time here before she went to the MTC and it was so great to see her! I even got to see her before they dropped her off. She's doing wonderful things and teaches everyone about simplicity - don't sweat the little things because we're working on an eternal perspective.

 Reunited and it feels so good! During Haley's visit before she left.

Laken, Haley, and me on the day Haley went into the MTC. Oh Hunnay you so prettay.

The Fugal Boys

My boys are on the down hill slope!

Elder Lundwall is in Minnesota and left January 2013.
Elder Lichtenberg is in Ukraine and left February 2013.

Elder Decker is in Mexico and left March 2013.

Elder Cook is in Spain and left March 2013.

Elder Fulton is in Mexico and left May 2013. 

I LOVE reading about their adventures in their weekly emails and seeing their cheesy smiles in the pictures they send. I'm even more excited for all the food we're going to be able to eat when they get home. Hooray! Their experiences all differ in a lot of ways, but they're all growing like crazy! I can't wait for these spiritual giants to be home.

I had to really search through all our pictures because I just have some of the best ones but I settled for this:

And one of Elder Decker because he isn't in the above picture/he hated us then/he hadn't moved in yet/hadn't cut his hair and gained major swag thereafter. 

Lady K

She surprised us all when she decided to put in her papers - even more when she told us they were already done! She left in April for the MTC and is in Bulgaria now, but not before she spent some time getting wild out here so that was super fun. Happy Valentine's Day to me! She loves talking about the light of Christ in our lives.

From Lady K's two-week adventure in Provo. So much ratchet. So much love.

The day she went into the MTC. This pose though. Definitelh starting a tradition. 

Tommy Boy

This kid. Elder LeCheminant's serving in Orlando, Florida and his letters literally make me cry laughing every time I hear back from him. I miss our cookie and juice parties though. Also, I look so good in this picture. He knows he should throw in something spiritual and simply states that the church is true.

We are just supes totes adorbz

Kammmmmmmmmm

Elder Griffiths is serving in England (but actually all over the UK). I swear he was born to be a missionary. Luckily we hung out for a bit before Christmas while he was out visiting in Utah! Plus, I got to Skype with him before he flew across the pond. He is nothing but smiles and focuses on finding the positive in all he does. 

Our last skype chat! (Side note: can I just say how much I love getting international mail??)

Dump

Elder Marshall is serving in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and loveloveloves everything about it. Except coconut water. He always takes the time to thank God for the many blessings he is given while in Florida serving the people. 

Fish

Elder Hamilton is serving in El Salvador and likes to complain about how hot he is all the time. Also, he's probably gonna die down there between the gang fights and the volcano eruptions. He loves talking to investigators about the beauty of the Plan of Salvation and the importance of families. 

He's the one on the far right. 

I'm so blessed by their examples and these missionaries are making my life so great without even knowing it I'll bet. 

To learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries, click here. 

I've Been Thinking

I know that's kinda scary. But isn't crazy to think about how people come into your life? And the ones you think will be important aren't and the ones that are you don't realize it until late.

(Heads up, this might end up being me talking in circles and making absolutely no sense.)

Take H for example. Her name alone made me think we weren't going to get along right off the bat. I emailed her timidly because that's what you do when given a roommate's email address right? I didn't know at the time how important she would become in my life or how much we would need each other. And neither of us really understood how tidy we were (We both said somewhat. I'm definitely more than somewhat and she is most definitely less. But I love her!) And now, a year later, I miss her more than dieters miss candy and we text each other funny things that we used to be able to say across the room and now there's an ocean dividing us.

Or A. A admitted to me later on that she hated my first impression and thought I was really stuck up when she first met me (I think I need to work on that... haha). We always joked about our first times hanging out. One day she tried to find me and there was another Britt on the floor but she was Brittany and I'm Brittani. We had our names on the doors courtesy of our RA and Amber knocked on Brittany's door and asked, "Oh, is Brittani here?" and she said "I am Brittany..." How awkward for her right? That led to me sleeping on her extra bed almost every night until K moved in and even then I moved my mattress in. Lucky I have her while K is going to be in London and nearly all of our other friends are going on missions.

And then there's Lady K! K and I met the summer after my junior year. We got in trouble for being rebels without a cause at EFY and keeping the whole building up. We yolo'd so hard even then. Fast forward two years and we find out we're living on the same floor of the same building or Freshman Year at BYU... COINCIDENTALLY.  The universe was definitely trying to tell us something then (HIMYM reference, anyone? Anyone? K will get it.)

Where there's Lady K, there's a Lake - the second half of the blondtourage. L and I had our ups and downs but we make a good team. She reminds me not to take life so seriously and she needs me to take her phone so she actually gets her assignments done. And she started as that girl down the hall who wanted us to come see her on Halloween at Sonic because she had to work. Oh, she likes Little Mermaid too so that's kinda bonding.

Can't forget about A and O. Met because BYU put us together in a Y-group because we signed up for the same class our first semester. Take a picture together the first night and it's like you're destined to love them forever. A is on a mission and I talk to him weekly and can't imagine not having his friendship in my life. He truly was an answer to my tear-filled, lonely prayers. And O - we may not have seen each other everyday of the school year, but we finished where we started and made sure there were lots of laughs and memories along the way and are able to pick up where we left off when we are together.

Or my bulldogs. Did you know that when I first moved to Lake County they all picked on me relentlessly? Not like they do now where it's a joking thing. But to the point where I would go home and cry. (I was pretty weird individualistic in the middle school in their defense.) And then in high school I started checking their collars to make sure their ties were covered because I think I might have OCD. And one day Kyle called me Momma Goose and that's how that started. And now I love and care about them like my brothers and I pray for them and worry for them and get excited for them and they are some of the greatest friends in my life. Even if they agitate me without end.

There's the friends I thought would be my friends forever in high school and now we hardly talk or I see their Facebook statuses and that's how I keep updated.

There's the friends who come into your life and leave and come back until you realize how much you love them and need them around. And no matter what life brings you through or where you are or how many times you fight or say "I hate you" deep down you always still care.

There's the friends that I feel obligated to make things work with and I try really hard but I know that in the end I have to do what's best for me and sometimes that means going separate ways because we have different life experiences and we grow in different ways and sometimes that means that we grow apart. But that's life.

What I'm trying to say I guess is that there are so many things that happen in our lives and we don't always take time to appreciate them or write them down or ponder them. And I always tell myself I'll get around to it at some point but tonight I just knew I needed to write it down for me because it's been something I've been thinking about for a while. In the end, I just feel grateful. And that's possibly the best thing.

This year

It's almost over 

WHAT.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I sat in my room balling my eyes out with Lady K because we had no friends and hated it here and wanted to be home and missed our family and the sky was falling and the world was coming to an end?

First night at school, say what?

 That was eight months ago.

And now the thought of going home is killing me. I mean I have the BEST people in my life - hands down. H, A, K, L, and the plethora of boys lining up at my door (don't even get me started on how many marriage proposals I've had this year, I mean really*). And now I've gotta go home and put all that on hold and work and make money and do some leadership stuff on the side because that's kinda my thing. I just got settled in and started enjoying, well, everything and now I'm out. And 99.9% of the people I met won't be here next year - THOSE FREAKING MISSIONS. Good thing I love this Church as much as I do and I'm okay with it. I also don't want to be struck down by lightning...

I feel like I've learned a lot. No so much in my classes but those were cool, too. More about me. And I realized how much I love this time in my life and how I don't want it to end and I don't want to grow up and I want to be able to stay up all night and jump around until we see the sun, you feel me?

It's just been some great time. Some awesome, fantastic, truly wonderful memories. And this 3-month break is going to SUUUUUUCK.

I now present to you: A Year in Pictures (The Condensed Version)

First Friends! Love them always and forever. 

Cutest Roommates you ever did see. #Jackpot

First (and LAST) time hiking the Y.

First Homecoming! True Blue. Thanks for making me go, BM.

First time having all four seasons! (Sometimes all in one day... Oh Utah.)

First real winter. Guys, I'm still alive. Shocking to even me!

Christmas at Temple Square with my lovers. Oh, that night. Memories. 

Ice skating! Still my dream date. Take note, boys, I'm easy to please.

It felt like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters. But it was really cold...

Did you know if you sit in the right place at lunch time in the CougarEat approximately 2012839201438247 people will come to talk to you about country dancing and hungry face competitions and BYU/SA?

Just a mid-week drive to Salt Lake. Gotta look hot, you know what I'm saying?

*Yeah, no that's a joke. So sorry for the disappointment. But I made it through my first year without a ring on it! Yes, it can be done! Actually, none of my friends got engaged this year. #foreveraloneattheCannonCenter

Reflection

For every paper I've written in my Writing 150 class, we had to complete a reflection on the process of writing our paper and the challenges and successes that came because of it.
Well, seeing as it's the end of my first semester of college (!), I thought it might be appropriate to reflect on my challenges and successes in this latest chapter of my life.

First, I have now lived on my own for four months. HATE IT. There is nothing better than going home, eating something homemade, having someone do your laundry, and not having to plan everything on your own. But, there are positives. I don't have to have someone plan my every minute (Mom, if you only knew how I spent my time here...), and I'm learning to be independent. Baby steps, for sure, but I'm doing it.

Second, I have a new family. I did the impossible and made new friends. Seeing my brothers/bulldogs over break was one of the highlights of my life, no joke. But there was a part of me that couldn't wait to get back to P-town to see Kenzi and Amber - my sisters - and all the other wonderful/not-so-wonderful people here. What a relief to know that, yes, it can be done! I can live outside of Lake County!

Third, I'm not engaged, dating someone, or planning on dating someone. Take that all you people who said I'd come to BYU and be engaged after a semester because
    a. That's what Mormons do
    b. That's what BYU is for.
    c. It didn't matter where I went to school because I really was only going to meet my future husband (MRS degree, obviously)
And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Fourth, I have cried more in the last four months than anytime I can remember. There were the times when I missed my boys. There were the times when I was so stressed about classes I couldn't see straight. There were the times when all I wanted was to be home where I didn't have to worry about money anymore! There were the times when I couldn't make up my mind about the future (a scary place by the way). And there were the times when I just wanted familiarity. BUT I LIVED. I succeeded. I made it through. And all those worries seem a lot sillier from this point of view.

Fifth, I'm okay with the fact that I haven't gotten all As this semester and that that is pretty much out of the realm of possibility. Did it suck of course? Well yeah! This girl's had straight As since the 4th grade! But then I remembered I'm at BYU. And every student here came from a highly successful academic background. And not everyone can be on top. AND I AM OKAY WITH IT.

Sixth, getting out of the Lake County bubble has opened my eyes in so many ways. I sure appreciate home a lot more. I wouldn't change growing up in hicktown Lakeport for anything in my life. I love having to explain where I live in California to people who think that they know the area so well. And then the looks on people's faces when I tell them I graduated with 100 kids. The stories that I have, the memories, make it all worth it in the end.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is that I'm happy for where I've been, and excited for where I'm going. I kinda surprised myself with sitting down and writing this with how many things I'm thankful for in my life. It may mean nothing to you. But it means everything to me!

EDIT: Oren wanted me to let you all know how miserable I was that I didn't get to see him over break. That is all.

I Have These Really Awesome People in My Life Like.... {Four}

 

Kenzi

Kenz and I met at EFY the summer of 2011. We were neighbors. And got in trouble. But that's a different story.

Next, we came to BYU together. And ended up on the same floor, in the same hall. Out of all the on-campus housing! It really was pretty awesome. Especially because we knew someone this way.

Now we're busy making memories. 

And lots of friends. And she's the best. Even if she thinks I hate her. Or whatever.

I love my Korean Roommate

Kenzi: Hey Sally, wanna see my cute Asian friend?
Sally: Yeah!
(Shows picture)
Sally: OH MY GOSH. I want to do laundry on his abs!