20) Conclusion

Writing 150 is coming to an end. We have had a wild ride in that class, well at least I have. I have a love hate relationship. I'm not good at it, and I don't really enjoy it. But all thanks to Professor Steadman, I have learned how to write something worth while! Although I didn't exactly enjoy every assignment, she opened my eyes to meaningful writing, and not just writing that's enjoyable for a teacher, but writing that's enjoyable for me! I have learned that if i am having fun writing about it, then chances are so are the readers! This class didn't necessarily teach me any new mechanics of writing, but it did make me open up to the possibility of continuing to write. That is after all, why i have this blog and i will continue to keep up with this blog for myself, and all those who wish to read it. I've figured, if I have taken a picture of it in my phone, then it should have a worthy explanation right? So my goal is to continue on improving my writing skills by blogging whenever I have taken a "worthy" picture. This way I will not only have an amazing picture to share, but a little bit of commentary to go along with it! Thank you Writing 150! I wouldn't be blogging if it weren't for you!

19) Our Roommate "Christmas" tree

In my apartment, we have had a dingy old fake "tree-bush". We never really knew what to do with it because, well, its ugly. So we shoved it in the corner, dusty leaves and all, and just hoped that no one really looked at it. I have no idea why we haven't thrown it away yet. It's hideous. Anyways, when I had gotten back from break I came into my apartment to find that it had Christmas lights and tinsel. Tis the Season right? That poor little "tree-bush" looked like it was straight out of the Mount Crumpit. I looked at it and said well instead of a Charlie Brown tree, well have a Grinch tree this year. So I went to the dollar tree and bought some ornaments. It's not much to look at, and its the cheapest tree I've ever decorated. But that's how were suppose to "do" college right?

18) Home for Thanksgiving

As soon as I got home I was more than excited to see my wonderful family. I had missed having millions of kids running around calling me Aunty McKaela. My nieces and nephews are my pride and joy! I am always amazed at how smart these children are and I love to see how they grow up. There personalities always seem to make me laugh and smile. They are so much smarter than you think and one example of this is little Sophie. She is such a clever little girl! in this picture Jordan dosed off and Sophie was able to work my mother's IPhone better than my mom! She was playing games and would screenshot parts that she liked! What little girl knows how to do that? It's Crazy!

Sunday morning we had to say our goodbyes and head back to Utah for finals, with Jordan driving through Tahoe, Brittany driving part way through Nevada and me finishing up the drive into Provo. But much to her surprise she heard sirens and saw the flashing blue and red lights.Yep, it was Brittany's first time. I don't think she said anymore than "Oh" after the officer had told her she was going 84 in a 75 zone. So Jordan and I took charge and tried to have a personal conversation with the officer. We were on the side of the snowy road for probably a good five minutes when the officer came up and told Brittany he was letting her off without a citation. Man its good to be a girl! And sorry Tina if you find this out by reading this, she's a good driver! But this picture was too priceless to not share.

17) The drive to California

So the drive home for Thanksgiving was much needed. It seemed to go on forEVER. I brought these Wilde cousins with me and I couldn't have made it home without them. Ten hours of driving non-stop wouldn't be so good to me. So I was so grateful they came with me. Family is such a great thing :). On the drive home, excited was an understatement! I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed and eat those amazing California avocados. With Jordan in the back reading like ALWAYS, we made it home safely into open arms and it was my favorite Thanksgiving yet. I realized how much i take my family for granted and how much they do for me.

16) Conference 2014 Salt Lake City Utah

This is the Conference Center in Salt Lake City Utah. My family and I went to hear the words of our prophets here and It was wonderful! We ended up having to wait in a huge line and all i remember is it was HOT outside.

We got to listen to the Quorum of the 70 speak in their native languages and WOW that was a different experience, but I felt the spirit regardless!








Afterwards we went to the top floor of the Joseph Smith building i believe and had dinner and a GREAT view!

15) Mitt Romney Devotional

What an amazing experience to go see the republican candidate of our last election. We were allowed to listen to him speak here at BYU in the Marriott center.It was weird to think that he went from such a popular person to becoming just like everyone else again. He shared his campaign stories and it turns out that he's a pretty funny guy!

14) I'd Rather Be Hiking Part 1

Hike #1:
STEWART FALLS
This was my first hike here in Utah. Hiking Stewart falls in September was the best decision of my life! It was the most perfect time of the year because everything was blooming and B-E-A-U-tiful! The water was absolutely freezing though. And yes we ran under the waterfall. It was so worth it!

These pictures are with my friend from back home, Kenna Davidson. And i am so thankful for her because i would have never gotten into this hiking kick if it wasn't for her.  This was the view of the trail out and back. Looking at this stuff for 4 miles wasn't so bad :) Except on the way back we decided to take the road less traveled and ended up an extra 4 miles hiking an up hill trail. Actually it wasn't a trail at all we ended up finding the road and taking it all the way back UP hill for what seemed like forever! But it was all worth it...

13) I'd Rather Be Hiking Part 2

Hike #2:
  SQUAW PEAK
Now this hike was one for the books! This was our spontaneous rain hike... right after class got out Kenna calls me asking to come over, so as soon as I got to her place we decided to drive up to Squaw look out and hike along the mountain ridge. We didn't even consider that we'd be hiking THROUGH clouds. It was the coolest experience of my life! It was cold and miserable yes, but so much fun.

We were laughing and slipping down mud banks, which would make us laugh even harder we didn't make it to Squaw Peak, but we had a blast. We were hiking through quick-mud, or so it seemed. The mud was so thick on our shoes it felt like we had Shape-ups on...

It was spontaneous, hilarious, and a plain 'ol good time,

12) I'd Rather Be Hiking Part 3

Hike #3:
ROCK CANYON
This one was a group effort. We had heard about these caves in Rock canyon and decided to go check them out for ourselves. We didn't know exactly where they were, but we decided to go find them ourselves. Spelunking! Luckily we found this cave, and it was pretty big! Smelt like "skunk" in there though.
   
After we found the cave we decided to keep going till we got to the end of Rock Canyon Trail. We made it to the top and to our surprise there were two little old ladies picking around at the ground around this campsite. We said our hellos, just expecting a quick exchange and then to turn around and hike back down, but these two little ladies, "Mary and Mary", decided to tell us there life stories and how they've been friends since the dawn of time and just when we thought it was our cue to leave, they insisted that we see their antique collection of broken bottles and rusted axes they've found. Then they proceeded to teach us what was trash and what was treasure. At this point we figured they just needed the company, so we sat and listened for what seemed like hours. Before we could leave the women asked to exchange emails in case we wanted to go on one of their adventures. They were some of the sweetest most talkative women I've ever met.

11) I'd Rather Be Hiking Part 4

Hike #4:
BRIDAL VEILS
*Hiking ad climbing beyond this point is strictly prohibited*

Welp... We did it anyways. It was hard! And steep! And Scary! We were relying on slick slippery OLD ropes. I practically scaled a mountain just to make it to an old rusty abandoned restaurant. The view at the top was way worth the pukey feeling I got on the way up.
 
At first I was scared to even look over the edge because I knew we were way high up on a ledge that could send me to my death.

It may look like I was gonna jump, but the only thing that was going through my mind is HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE. I am not scared of heights, just the possibility of falling. And oh boy I felt like this rickety building was going to tumble down this cliff.


Finally I got comfortable with the structure and got my adrenaline pumping to take these awesome pictures. This was the most rewarding hike I've been on in Utah. The view was to DIE for. Literally I thought I was gonna die up there.

10) I'd Rather Be Hiking Part 5

Hike #5:
Y MOUNTAIN PEAK
So I don't know the exact name for this mountain, but its the one with our school letter on it...

This mountain, but the highest peak... It was the hardest hike I have EVER been on, it was cold and windy, and I was so so tired. It was hard to see things... Oh yeah i forgot to mention we did it at 4 O'clock in the AM. Yes, it was crazy! No flashlights, no jacket, and no sleep. :( And for any of you who know me, this is a BIG deal for me. I love my sleep!

This was our view from half way to the top of the Y Mountain. And we didn't even need a flashlight because the Provo streetlights lit the side of the mountain just enough to get us to the valley that we had to walk through. Which is pictured below!

And we finally made it to the top when the sun was rising and it was such a rewarding experience!

We ended up freezing our butts off at the summit, and it was a race to the bottom, so that i could make it to my eight o'clock class, but so worth it and so fun!

9)Trek to Provo Utah

So here I was. Driving eleven hours from little El Dorado California, to the bubble of Provo Utah. The drive seemed like days. I was stuffed in my tiny car with more possessions than should have really fit in my trunk and backseat. As you can tell I was bored out of my mind. Don't get me wrong, the mother daughter heart-to-heart we shared was something to remember! I was ready to get my new college life started, but I-80 seemed to never end. The thought crossed my mind a time or two that Nevada should just sink so that the drive to Utah would be cut in half. That way I would be happier, and what Utahan wouldn't be happier to be closer to sunny California? Its a Win Win!

On our adventure through Nevada, we hit a thick fog and some crazy rain. Coming from California were it was in the worst drought it's seen in decades, and pretty much half of California was set on fire because it was so dry, I was hoping that even just half this rain storm would find its way towards my hometown. Nevada has a depressing vibe and driving six hours on a straight road in this dismal state made me think a little. It made me think that i would have to drive this stretch EVERY time i wanted to go home. These extra six hours are in the way of me and my home.

It seemed as though things were looking down. Just when I thought the worst, like I'm not gonna make any friends, I'm gonna hate my roommates, or I'm gonna get so homesick... there was a sign sent from God in all this misery.   Not a small rainbow, but a full rainbow. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It made me practically slap myself in the face for thinking the worst. Why do I always make situations seem worse than they really are. I mean how bad could BYU be right? All I've ever heard is good things from this place. At this point I was still a little nervous. I had chosen to live off campus and skip the traditional "Freshman Experience".

I knew this would back fire and blow up in my face. I was nervous about the regret I would feel for not getting to know more people. This is where I was thinking if i did not like my roommates, then there is no turning back. I could not just walk down the hall to find other friends to turn to.

As I pulled into my apartment I was nervous to even walk up my stairs. This was it and this place was my new life. Things were awkward at first. I didn't know what to think. Did I like my new old dingy apartment? And the awkward small talk with the roommates. I wondered if this would ever feel normal. At that point i couldn't tell if we were gonna be friends or just acquaintances. If we'd enjoy each other's company, or if we'd just stick to the casual "hi" on the way through the front door, then go into hiding in our rooms.


This was our first roommate picture. We awkwardly sat in the living room and awkwardly suggested a roommate picture. After this picture I'm pretty sure we all went our separate ways without saying a word. Don't let our smiles fool you. It was Weird. After a couple days we started to have real conversations with each other. We actually got to know each other!

As of now I feel so blessed to know these girls! Even though we are all completely different, these are girls I'll never forget. I am so grateful that I have met these amazing people, and they have become some of my best friends. From that first day, I'd never believe that I'd be this close to these people. And I'm so glad things turned out the way they did. We share so many laughs and great memories. And I wouldn't trade this experience for any typical "Freshman experience".

There is never a dull moment with these ladies!