2012, You've Been Good to Me

I can't believe this year's already come and gone!  Looking back on where I was a year ago, I NEVER would have though I'd be where I am today!  Well, figuratively speaking.  I figured I'd still be here in Rexburg.  Haha.  But I've seriously grown SO much this year!  But anyway, here's my musings for this past year full of the random stuff I did!

January
1. Started back working at Transitions.  I LOVED that job!
2. Hiked R-Mountain in Rexburg, just for the heck of saying I did it in the middle of winter with Cait and Kelsey, two of my favorite people in the world!

                             

February
1. I found Grandpa's old foot locker from WWII in their basement.  Super cool!  That's about it though.  That month was kinda boring.  Haha.  The top picture is Grandpa wearing his aviator glasses, and the bottom is the box.

               

March
1. I voted in my first caucus.
2. Grandpa's dad used to write music, and he just found a lot of his old music that he wanted me to finish.  I'm still working on them, but it's pretty awesome!  I'm just disappointed I never got to show them to Grandpa before he passed away.  :(
3. I realized that I can do improve piano!
4. This one's probably the most exciting so far.  Kira got engaged!

April
1. I turned 20!  No longer a teenager!
2. Went to Salt Lake for a session of General Conference and went to a Jazz game!  WAY up in the nose-bleed section!  I just think this is a funny picture because of number 34.  I have NO idea what he's doing with his leg, but it makes me laugh.  Haha.  And Jimmer's in the picture.  :)

3. Back to school!  And I had my first semester volunteering at Get Connected as an I-Rep.  Super fun!  

May

1. ...actually, nothing really happened in May.  That was probably the most boring month of the year...

June

1. Went canoeing!  And got THE worst sunburn of my life with an extremely large, painful blister on my shoulder that bubbled up real big... then popped.  Sorry, TMI.

2. I completed the Lazy Man Iron Man competition at BYU-Idaho!  Which is a HUGE accomplishment for me, because I hate working out.

3. My car overheated on the highway on the way to Salt Lake.  So I had to drive over an hour and a half with the windows open in 100 degree weather with the heater on.  Yeah, NOT fun.  But I stayed with my sister in her new apartment and went to Lagoon!  That was fun at least!

July

1. Kira got married!  That's pretty exciting stuff!

                            

2. I rode a camel!  Yep, that's probably the coolest thing I did this year.  :)  Had a great vacation with my family in St. George and at Tuacahn watching Aladdin there.

3. Olympics started!  I love watching those!

4. Found out that Transition's was closing.  Super sad, because that was the BEST job I've ever had!  So I took applications to other Developmental Disabilities Agencies and found a new job the first day I looked.  So I started working at The Adventure Center, which I still love!  I'm so lucky I can have a job I love and have a job that is perfect experience for my major!

August

1. Went to the Darius Rucker concert with my bro!  Super great! Top picture is me and Devin waiting for it to start, and the bottom is the one and only Darius Rucker!

2. Tried out for American Idol, just to say that I did it.  Small town auditions just so happened to be in Idaho Falls, 5 minutes away from my house, so I was like, "What the heck?  Why not?"  So me and Devin tried out.  And no, I didn't make it.  But that's good, because I didn't WANT to make it!  Being famous sounds too stressful.  Haha.  And besides, bigger and better things have happened to me since then!

3. I bought a car!  2003 Mazda Protege.  Named DeeDee because it's a spunky, black name, and I'm a spunky girl WITH a black name.  Haha.

4. One of my very best friends, Kelsey, got married on the 31st.  And I got to be one of her bridesmaids!  This is me, Kels, and Cait.  :)

September

1. My other, amazing, wonderful roommate got married on the 1st!  Congrats Carlee!  I'm just bummed I couldn't go to San Diego to see her!

2. Back to school!  I've started my Junior year of college!!!  Crazy how fast time flies!  I had an insane moment and signed up for 18 credits, which totally kicked my butt, but I did it!  I'm a survivor!  But before the semester started, I had the amazing opportunity to be an I-Team leader for Get Connected, and I was over the BEST group of new freshmen EVER!  Love them all, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I got to know them!

3. Some not so great news.  My amazing, wonderful, loving, talented, BEST grandpa passed away on September 9th.  I miss him SO much!  But I'm so incredibly grateful for the impact he had on my life.  He was literally one of the best men I know, and he lived an amazing 93 years.  And I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation that I will get to see him again and give him another big hug!  He served in the Air Force during WWII.  I'm grateful for all he did for my freedoms!

October

1. The biggest news of all is that I decided to go on a mission.  I had the feeling on my half birthday, October 3rd, that I should go.  This just so happened to be 3 days before General Conference.  Then during Conference, the announcement that totally changed my life came!  Girls can now serve when they're 19!  So I immediately started my papers and turned them in 2 1/2 weeks later!  I'm one of the older ones now, but I don't care!  I'm just SO excited to serve the Lord!

November

1. Again, exciting mission news!  I got my call on November 9th, less than a month after I started working on my papers.  I'm going the Florida Orlando Mission, reporting to the MTC March 13, 2013!  I couldn't be happier or any more excited!

2. I completed the Lazy Man Iron Man again!  Whew!  I work out!

3. Happy Thanksgiving!  This was THE BEST Thanksgiving Break I've EVER had!  First of all, I really needed the break.  I was going insane from all the work I had to do.  Never again will I do 18 credits.  Haha.  But I found out that I'm going to be an aunt!  I can finally tell people since Kira's finally announced it to the public!  I'm SUPER excited about that!  The next thing that happened over Thanksgiving break deserves it's own number... So...

4. I went through the temple for the first time on November 24th!  That was such an incredible experience!  I'm SO grateful I can be a member of this amazing church!  It always brings me so much peace, comfort, and happiness!  I wouldn't be the same person without it!  It's had such a positive impact on my life, and never fails to make me feel better on a bad day!

December

1. Well, since it's only the 8th day of the month, I can't say anything too huge has happened yet.  But it is finals week.  I'm SO ready to be done with school, especially since I'm not going to have another homework assignment or test for another 2 years!  WOO!  I've been so incredibly busy and stressed out this whole semester.  But I can do hard things!  And I did!

So, yeah, that's my year in a nutshell.  A kinda big nutshell.  Haha.  Lots of stuff happened!  But I can honestly say that I'm a much happier, better person because of all of the amazing experiences I've had.  This has definitely been one of my favorite years!