Practice What You Teach

This blog post is going to be a little bit personal, but I just really want to share some details about one of my primary summer goals: losing weight. As a kid I was really active I'd say. I did some sports growing up and I LOVED to play outside all the time. Then I got really into swimming. Mind you I wasn't very good at anything but breaststroke, but hey I did qualify for All Stars in it twice. Anyways, for three years, 6th-8th grade I swam year round. I would get up and swim before school three or four days a week and swam in the summer. Physical activity was a pretty big part of my life and I never really worried about my weight. Then high school happened. A typical day for me in high school started at 5:15 a.m. I would get ready and eat breakfast and get out the door to attempt to be at my church by 6 (rarely were we on time but we tried) for seminary, a 45 minute class that members of the LDS church all around the world attend each morning all four years of high schoo...

Just a year ago I was a terrified high school graduate. I knew that in a month in a half I would be heading to a school that was 2,000 miles away from my hometown to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was excited for the new adventure, but had no idea what the year would bring. From the moment I set foot on that campus, as nervous as I was I knew this was where I was meant to spend the next chapter of my life. I had an incredible freshman year and made memories and friends that I will cherish forever. This blog post is dedicated to all of the reason why I love being a BYU cougar! 1. MY FRIENDS. I made friends with some absolutely incredible girls in my first year of college. We came from areas all around the country. I was raised in Virginia. Kate was raised in Kansas. Anna was raised in Utah. Samantha was raised in Missouri. Alyssa was raised in California. Kaylee was raised in Connecticut. And so on and so forth. However there was one thing that brought us all together: our...

Our family got home yesterday from an absolutely wonderful week at Nags Head Beach in the Outer Banks!  Leaving for the beach was quite an adventure. Last Friday night, my mom and I were sitting in the basement watching the gymnastics Olympic Trials when out of nowhere it started storming and our power went out! We had to finish all of our packing in the dark so we could still leave the next morning. My sisters came home from Girls Camp that night and we had to take all of their dirty laundry with us! We were able to leave as planned the next morning after leaving a key to our house with our wonderful neighbors the Overtons who came and cleaned out our fridge and freezer for us! When we got to North Carolina, instead of making our traditional stop at McDonalds, the family met up at Wendy's to shake things up a bit. After eating and making many MANY jokes about making a stop at the Wright Brother's Memorial, we headed to Manteo to spend the afternoon there until our house was re...

What a week it's been! My cousin/one of my best friends Matthew left on his mission this week! He is serving in the London England South Mission. On Tuesday night the whole family went over to Julie's for dinner and Grandma and Grandpa kindly bought Potbelly's for everyone for dinner. Then we all went to the stake center for Matthew's setting apart. I was so grateful that I was able to be there! I'm not gonna lie, I got quite emotional. Thank goodness it was just my family and the stake presidency there, because I am not an attractive crier at all! Matthew and I then went with Grandma and Grandpa to drive Becky home! I just love having my family so close by again and spending time with them! The next morning I stopped by and said a quick final good-bye on my way to work! He is now safely at the MTC in Preston, England! He's already sent his first letter home and his MTC president sent home some pictures! It was so great to hear from him and he sounded so happy i...

I've been meaning to write a Memorial Day Weekend blog post, but it totally slipped my mind until today! So here it is, only a week late! Last Sunday was Matthew's missionary farewell! My uncle Phil and cousin Jonathan came into town for it and we had such a great weekend! On Saturday, we all went over to the Frederickson's house and Becky bought everyone Taco Bell for lunch and we just sat around and caught up for a little while. Then, me, Amy, Matthew, Jenn, and Jonathan decided we wanted to go on an adventure. So, after a quick stop at Sweet Frog, where Jonathan kindly informed many uninterested customers that I worked there and asked them to please come visit me sometime, we met up with one of Matthew's friends at Dan Island in Ashburn. It was super pretty and a nice place to hang for a little while. Then we all went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a family dinner. Grandma had prepared the best ribs I have ever tasted! They were SO good. We had a great n...

Well it's been almost a month since I've posted on my blog. I know I should be better. Well I'm home in Virginia. I love being home with my family, but I miss BYU and my friends there so much! Here's a list of the things I've been up to since I got home. -The week after finals I did absolutely nothing. I just relaxed at home and took a week to wind down after a stressful week of finals and catch up on some sleep. -Then I started job hunting. I was fortunate enough to only have to job hunt for one day before I was hired at Sweet Frog, a frozen yogurt shop near my house where I've been working since! It's a really fun job! -I have also been babysitting a lot for families in my ward! I love little kids, and it's been a great way to earn some extra money! -I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family! -I went to DC with Matthew to have lunch with Becky. -I've seen a few friends from high school. I can't wait until my sisters get o...

Well today I took my last two finals, and I am officially DONE with my first year of college! I seriously just can't believe it!! This is nuts. I can't believe it's over! This has been the most amazing first year of college that I ever could have asked for! I have made the most amazing friends in the entire world! Samantha, my work out buddy and fellow lover of sarcasm, The Office, and Modern Family. I love our talks and she is such an amazing friend! I'm really going to miss our breakfasts at the Cannon Center! Kaylee, one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met! I am so excited for her to be my roommate next year! She is so much fun and I just love her. Anna, who always gives me a laugh. She loves awkward situations and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She introduced me to Harry Potter and is always so much fun to be around! Kate, who is just the bomb. She is hilarious! She knows my Uncle PHILIP. Small world right? She is so fun to talk to and I ...