BYU GRADUATION!

I did it, I graduated from BYU! I really can't believe it, the past four years went so fast. (Just a warning this blog will be somewhat long and have lots of pictures. Taryn this is mostly for you, you can really feel like you were there!) My parents came out for graduation and I was very happy to have them here to celebrate with me. On Thursday there was the big commencement ceremony where all the graduates are together. President Uchtdorf and Elder Nelson spoke. It was very cool, Katie and I walked in together. I was also happy to find the girls from my senior group and to get a picture with them.I was able to find Jonny and my parents in the crowd and they were able to see me so that was cool. We got lots of pictures after. This is my favorite picture of Katie and me.

Jonny's family was there for Aaron's graduation so I got a picture with his sisters. Yes, Hannah is almost as tall as me and I am in heels and she is not.

Of course I got a few pictures with Jonny and Mom and Dad. Here is one with Jonny, Katie and me.And of course I had to get pictures with the BYU sign!Friday was the convocation ceremony where we actually walked and received our diplomas. We were so lucky and our ceremony was at 8 am! Which meant we had to be there by 7:15, I was not happy but it wasn't too bad. Luckily it wasn't too long and we were lucky to have Elder Oaks speak to us. Sadly I could not see my parents and Jonny and they could not see me because there was an organ in the way.

We went over to the building my major is in since that is where most of my final two years were spent.

The classic holding the graduate pose. I'm so happy Jonny was there and that he woke up early to come see me!

Giving Dad my Stole of Gratitude, he helped so much financially and emotionally. It would have been much harder for me to do it without his support. I love him so much and he deserved to be appreciated.

One with Mom, this would also have been so hard without her. She was always there for me and I love her so much.
So that was about it. I'm done, I am a BYU graduate! I loved my four years at BYU. Thank you to everyone who helped me through those years. I could not have done it without you. My parents, my sisters, Jonny, my professors, my friends and my Heavenly Father. I'm excited to be done and nervous and excited about the future.

All done!

I took my last college final today! I can hardly believe that I am done with college, it doesn't seem like it has been four years since I left high school. I still don't know for sure what my plans are, I'm looking for a PR internship so hopefully I will find one soon. My graduation is on Thursday and Friday and I can't wait, even though the one on Friday is at 8 in the morning! My gown is WAY to big for me but I really don't care, I'll wear it for like 2 hours and then not have to worry about it again! So until I have pictures from graduation this short boring post will have to do!

I thought it was April...but I guess I'm wrong.

Ok, so I know spring weather in Utah is always a little crazy but a full on snowstorm, really? Last year I complained because it was snowing in April but that was for like an hour and then warmed up. Today I left the apartment a little before noon to go to campus and it had started to snow but it was wet and not sticking. On the way back from campus an hour later it had started to stick a little bit. Then it just kept snowing all day, it stopped for like two hours and then started again. I honestly think this is one of the worst snow storms we have had this season. The roads were not fun taking Jonny home tonight, tree branches are falling because of the snow, really no fun at all! Here is a picture from my bedroom window.
Yes, I actually took this picture tonight this isn't from a few months ago. But it is supposed to be into the high 60s by Sunday and 70 on Monday, so here's hoping!

Easter Weekend

I had a wonderful Easter Sunday this year. Utah's spring decided to cooperate for the holiday and Easter Sunday was nice and sunny. On Saturday Jonny had lots of work to do and had to work the whole day so I took the chance to spend some time with my roommates. Hailey, Karlie and I went to an improv show at UVU, it was pretty funny and a guy in our ward was in it. Then we went bowling at BYU. I didn't do so well but it was still fun!

Karlie and me at the bowling alley.

And Hailey and me.

On Sunday I went to church and then we took some roommate pictures in our Easter attire. We had Karlie and Hailey's amazing home teacher and his roommate take the pictures for us. Thanks Marshall and Chase!

Then I made an Easter dinner for Jonny and Karleigh. We had pork chops, cooked apples, potatoes and rolls. I was happy, for once my pork chops weren't too dry! And of course we finished it off with lots of Easter candy from my parents. Jonny and I also went to Aaron's and did an Easter egg hunt. Overall it was a pretty great Easter weekend.

Joan's Funeral

On Friday March 27th my great-aunt Joan passed away. She was 89 years old and had lived an amazing and full life. Taryn did a wonderful tribute to Joan on her blog so here I will talk about the funeral. Sadly, I was the only one of my sisters that was able to make it to the funeral, we could not find a flight that worked for Karleigh and Taryn already had a flight this week. I went down on Friday evening and then had to return on Sunday afternoon but it was great to be there even if it was only for a short time. We held the service in Joan's church building on Saturday morning, my uncle Rocky gave the eulogy and my cousins sang. It was a beautiful service and I think it was a good celebration of the life she lived. The tree outside the building was full of blossoms and looked very similar to a tree from a painting in her home. The painting was of a park Joan walked through on the way to school as a child, it was done by my aunt. As my aunt Cara said, the tree was for Joan. We also went out to the cemetery for a short service. Joan served in the military during WWII so she received a flag for her service. This flag was given to my mom which was very special. I have an aunt and uncle who are Jewish, and if I understand correctly, it is part of their beliefs that it is important to watch the casket lowered and then to throw some dirt into the grave, it helps with the healing and closure. We were all able to take part in that so that was a new experience. Although we all missed Joan it was good to come together as a family and celebrate what a wonderful woman she was. We were able to get together and talk about our memories, it brought together family who do not get to see each other often. I walked around the house with a few of my cousins and we recorded some of our memories of her. They are older than me so it was interesting to see how our memories differed. We also wen through Joan's things and were all able to take things to remember her by. I love her and will miss her but I know that she is in a better place and with those that she loves.

The view from Joan's back porch, I have so many memories from here.