Nicole

This is my dear friend Nicole; the sweetest, kindest, 

most Christlike person you will ever meet. 

On February 17, heaven was sent another angel. 

Heavenly Father had called her home after battling cancer for years.

Nicole and I met a little over a year ago and BYU-Idaho. 

We were in the same ward, and that's how we became friends.

The first thing I noticed about Nicole was her ability to be friends with everyone.

She was so happy and always had a smile on her face.

My favorite memory of Nicole is sitting for hours and hours talking 

in my room about everything. (This was a weekly occurrence.) 

We went to our Tuesday night yoga class,

and had snowball fights with random boys.

We'd go to our ward activities,

and talk about our 'baby' crushes.

On weekend nights, we'd hang out with the boys of apt #401

and watch scary movies (actually not really, Nicole and I would talk 

in the kitchen and make no bake cookies while the 

boys and Emily watched the scary movies ;)

We grew so close.

Our winter semester ended, and Nicole went home to Washington,

and I went home to Arizona.

We talked on the phone, trying to keep in touch.

Each time I would talk to her, she was so positive about everything.

We'd laugh on the phone, reminiscing and saying"remember when...?"

Even though we were a few states apart, she was 

still one of my greatest friends.

It's been very difficult for me to realize that Nicole is no 

longer on this Earth anymore, that I can't call her up on 

the phone anymore whenever I want.

There have been lots of tears shed.

I don't know why Nicole had to go through this trial,

but what I do know is that Heavenly Father loves ALL of his children,

and we will all return back to him someday.

Heavenly Father will not give us any trial that we cannot handle,

and he knew that Nicole was strong enough to handle this one.

I am so thankful for The Plan of Happiness.

It has given me so much comfort these last couple of weeks.

It truly is a plan of happiness!

I am thankful for the knowledge that I will see 

my sweet friend Nicole again, 

that I will be able to embrace her with the biggest hug,

and that someday, 

we will once again sit on our beds and talk for hours and hours;

and that makes my heart very happy.

I know that Heavenly Father puts people in our lives for a reason.

Nicole changed my life for the better.

I am thankful for Nicole's Christlike example to me,

for our cherished friendship,

for her faith and obedience in God's plan,

for her strong testimony,

for her positive attitude,

and for her beautiful spirit that exudes happiness!

You are a true friend. I love you, my sweet Nicole! 'Til we meet again...


http://mormon.org/me/66qj

THE BIGGEST PICK UP LINE EVER

"Hey! You look really familiar!"

Over the past year and especially as at BYU-Idaho, we young single adults hear this sentence a lot. 

"You look really familiar" is the perfect pick up line to say if you want to learn more about the person you happen to be flirting with.

I have a perfect example:

A few weekends ago when I went up to visit friends in Rexburg, Em and I ate at the Crossroads (BYU-I cafeteria) for lunch. As we were deciding which foods to eat, I made eye contact with this random guy. I did not know this guy &I had never seen him before in my life. Sure enough, he says the ever-so-popular pick up line. "Hey! You look really familiar!" He continued asking me my name, where I'm from, what I'm majoring in, and basically my whole life story. This random guy and I parted ways. Emily and I walked away laughing at all the times this you look familiar situation has happened. 

As we were walking up to the check out line, to pay for our food, this same guy walks ahead of us and motions to the cashier that "it's on him."

He paid for our lunch! FREE LUNCH! 

We were elated, especially because both of our lunches combined came to $12.50. I have never been so happy to hear that "you-look-so-familiar" phrase in all my life. We parted ways once again, and this random guy that I had never seen before was never seen again.

So thank you, you unfamiliar stranger. Em and I enjoyed our lunch even more then we would have.

Sexy Rexy

Dearest Rexburg,

After a long, hard week of taking tests and studying, I was able to come visit you in your fall glory. You hold a special place in my heart. As I drove into town, my heart swelled and was about to burst. You see, I had a flood of memories come to me. I saw the gorgeous temple that Em and I used to attend weekly. I saw my old apartment and my favorite hangout spot Kiwi Loco frozen yogurt. I saw the endless hills that I use to walk up everyday in the bitter wind. I saw the Hinckley building where I had my religion classes and the I-Center where we had devotionals every Tuesday. I saw the gym where Katie and I did our weekly cycling classes and where Emily and I babed out at boys pumping iron. Not to mention I saw the library where I spent endless hours studying for my Anatomy class. 

And Rexburg, you will always have my heart because you hold some of my favorite people who helped me create these memories. I will forever be grateful for the experiences that you gave me and for   the lessons that I learned. Thank you for all those good times. 

With Love,

Me

(We don't see leaves like these in our Arizona desert!)

(My beautiful Rexburg temple)

(First semester roommates, minus Sarah at Kiwi Loco!)

<---- You see this apartment? This is the apartment where we invited cute boys are for potlucks dinners, where we danced in the kitchen while making homemade pizza, where we stayed up late doing a Richard Simmon's workout. We played games, made movies, had girls nights in our footie pajamas, had cereal parties, and witness some awkward dates. 

(Second semester roommates minus Holly and Dani)

I love you Rexburg, even for your down right cold weather, your endless 80 mph wind, and for your small town feeling. Until we meet again...

Family and Home

I have thoroughly enjoyed my last couple of days being home. I came off the airplane to warm weather and an amazing family waiting for me. As soon as I got off the plane, my sisters came running towards me,screaming my name, & giving me a great big hug. Tears of happiness and reunion were shed. 

I brought my siblings back a little taste of Idaho....Idaho Spuds! Hopefully that will be a fun memory someday. 

 Since it was Easter, the Dayley side had a big party/dinner at our house. It was so fun to catch up with some of my cousins. On the Dayley side, I was the only girl cousin for a long time until my sister came when I was 9 years old. I have seen these boys grow from babies to teenagers...and now they are way taller than me, which isn't hard to beat because I am 5'3.

And of course, they love to tease me as much as they can. Look at those smiling faces as they drop me. Boys will be boys.

dandy, just dandy

Right now, I sit here with a fried, worn out brain in complete and utter happiness. It's the kind of happiness that can never be forgotten because, well, today I finished my first year of college. Golly is that a good feeling. This morning I woke up to snow and I sat there at my kitchen counter daydreaming. As my hungry stomach growled I daydreamed about the yummy food that my very own mom was going to fix for me. My mouth watered as I thought about the healthy green smoothies, homemade bread, lots of vegetables, and fruit...all with no charge to me. ahh. Then my daydreaming ended when I realized that I had a test to study for. I got ready and headed out the door to head to the Benson building to take my last and final test for 5 whole months. You couldn't even wipe that smile off my face. I was indeed happy.

Now, I am even more dandy because my stomach is full of Great Harvest soup and their delish 9 grain wheat bread. My body is beginning to thaw out from the cold snow and again I sit here at the computer remembering the fun times this past weekend.

My Friday night consisted of this: (Yes that is a fin/tail made out of aluminum foil)

 and this:

 oh, and this:

Em, Liz, and I reinacted Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and let me tell you, we are a riot! Em played the lovely mermaid Ariel, Liz was the dashing Prince Eric, and I played the fun minor roles as Ursula, Eric's dog, and Sebastian. It is definately Youtube material. I wish I could post our movie on here, but my computer will not let me. You'll just have to take my word for it that it is amazing. We laughed ourselves silly.

So now, I am free of school. For the first time in months, I have nothing to do. I think it's time to go celebrate by taking a nap and while I take this nap, I will be dreaming of food like this:

Toodles.

xo Your College Sophomore,
Katie

Festival of Colors!

Festival of Colors:

50,000 people, $2 admission, white shirts that only stay white for 2 minutes, colorful chalk, crazy hippies and college students, cousins, and one heck of a good time!

Before:

After:

The next day at church we could tell who participated in this Festival of Colors. The symptoms? A stained scalp and colorful hair.

My hair is still purple and I can still taste chalk in my mouth….but it was all worth it! :)

Well hello there spring! Thank you for joining us today!

Today…


My alarm clock went off at 5:30am. I hit snooze.

I woke up at 6am instead.

I curled my hair. (Which is an accomplishment all in itself.)

I ate the usual for breakfast- oatmeal and a banana.

I was the first person in the library at 7am to study for my sociology quiz.

It turned out that we didn’t end up having a quiz.

I realized that I need to get more sleep.

I talked to my mom for a long time…

And I welcomed spring by soaking up the sun & exercising outside.

I wore sandals! :)

…and I painted my toenails because sandal weather is on its way!

I ate eggs and toast with spinach sprinkled on the top for lunch.

I didn’t have the motivation for school.

I went shopping for supplies for our ward Easter party.

And…I went on a date!

I would like to give a very special thanks to Idaho’s bipolar weather. Just when you think that you’ll die from slipping on the slush too much and turn into a popsicle… BAM! The next day is sunny sandal weather. All in all, it was a very happy Thursday.

waffles, sunglasses, & beautiful weather

I have now lived in Rexburg for 7 months! That is something to be proud of! Sunday afternoon was such a beautiful day; sun shining, birds chirping, NO SNOW, and clear blue skys. Spring was in the air! It was the perfect cardigan/sweater weather. There was no way my roommates and I were going to be locked in our apartment all day. I'm pretty sure every person in Rexburg was feeling the same way. Everyone was outside. It made me miss good ol fall semester when all we did was play outside.

After church, we packed a picnic full of yummy waffles, nutella, syrup, apples, whip cream, and Holly's famous quisch and headed across the street to Porter Park. The food was divine, the company was fabulous, and conversation was nice. I definately sun bathed and received most of my Vitamin D. I was feeling great! Even though overcast days are glorious, nothing competes with a beautiful sunny day. I miss my Arizona sun!

Then we came back home and took a nap. We don't get much sleep around here, so Sunday is most definately a day of rest!

curse you rexburg wind!

Saturday was a blizzardy day is Rexburg. It was overcast, snowy, and windy all day long. Em and I went to the temple to do baptisms. (we LOVE having the temple just up the hill.) We bundled up in our warmest clothes. I wore my long tan skirt with long johns underneath and Em wore her flimsy Arizona skirt and tights. We were ready for a great temple trip.

The Rexburg temple is always packed. There's lots of time for scripture reading and just thinking. I looked up through the glass and saw that the guy baptizing was the really cute guy from my Book of Mormon class! I nudged Em and she agreed with me that he was very attractive. We were literally crossing our fingers and praying that he would still be in the font by the time we got there...and he was!

Everything went great. He baptized so gently. He even recognized me as the girl in his class. Once we were finished, we walked out of the temple right before him and his friends. It was all part of our plan to be faster at changing out than he was because maybe he could offer us a ride home. We did not want to walk home in the cold-with wet hair. Wet hair and Rexburg, Idaho is not a good combo.

As we step out of the temple, a HUGE gust of wind picked up Em's skirt and showed off her little spandex. The wind just wouldn't quit. It's seriously like a tornado! Meanwhile, the really cute Book of Mormon guy walks out with his friends and they see all the action. Em is screaming. I am laughing hysterically. In order to keep her skirt down, she sets her bag down & leans up against the temple wall in a squatted position. As she sets her bag down, gum wrappers, lipgloss, and trash fly out of her bag all over the temple grounds....and also one article of clothing. On the temple tree, in the big planter box, high off the ground is Emily's panties dangling on the branch. "Is that your underwear?!" I yell through my laughter. (Keep in mind that the really cute boy is watching all the action...)  Needless to say, the cute boy's friend picks up her panties and brings it back to her. They walk away to their car. Through our tears of embarassment, we laughed uncontrollably.

Our plan to catch a ride home with the very cute Book of Mormon boy was a fail. We even chased them down in the temple parking lot holding up our hitchhikers thumb, but still no ride.

Moral of the story...don't ever trust Rexburg wind...and wear stiff skirts! ;P Just another embarassing moment for our journals...

We call this moment our "Not-so-Marilyn Monroe" moment.

(Definately NOT a Marilyn Monroe moment)

Love Day

See how I feel about Valentine's Day here!

Valentine's Day...my roommates & I gag at the thought, especially up here at BYU-I do. You can say that the girls of #319 are not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. In fact, we have multiple calenders hanging up in our apartment that label February as Single Awareness Day. We were not looking forward to February 14th.

It turned out to be a fabulous yet awkward heart filled day. We decided to make the best of it. The celebration began the night before when Em and I heartattacked our favorite boys.

 I woke up to the sweetest text from my dad. I sure love and miss my dad.

While in Anatomy class, 5 random people and one special girl sang to one special boy the buttercup song in front of the whole class. The special boy's face was blushing. People in love do the darnest things...

I came home to a peaceful aroma in my room. The frosted cranberry scent, windows open, a beautiful rose, and a nice love note created such a romantic scene haha. Em was my valentine.

Tuesday devotional was on...MARRIAGE!

The couple sitting in front of us at devo displayed too much public affection. PDA people! PDA!

While all the lovers went out with their significant other that night, my roommates and I had a Valentine's Day photoshoot compelete with red lips, kisses, and roommate love. Perfect way to end a great day.

this is where i get crazy.

{my prayer}

Now I lay me down to study,

I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.

If I should fail to learn this junk,

I pray the Lord I will not flunk.

And when I lay me down to rest,

I'll pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.

If I should die before I wake,

that's one less test I'll have to take.

Amen.

I'm having deshavu!

3 bowling + goofy golfing dates in 2 weekends? I'd call that a success. I should be a professional bowler by now, but unfortunately that is not the case...BUT being on the golf team junior year has paid off!

Thank you Fat Cat's for a good time! Nothing beats playing the same game and eating the same pizza 2 weekend nights in a row.

Bowling Date #1 Blind Date with Jayson.

 Bowling Date #2: With Mason Gibbons, my long lost friend from EFY. This kid holds a special place in my heart.

 Bowling Date #3: Devin. (We put up bumpers for this date...saved my bowling reputation.)

 On a side note, bowling is not the only thing we do here for dates. On the Martin Luther King Day, we went snowboarding and this kid paid for my lift ticket, lunch, and gas! all $75 of it! There are definately positives to being a girl.

 

Meet the roommates

New Year. New Semester. New Classes. New ROOMMATES!

This semester is going to be great for many reasons, one of which is because I have 3 new roommates and 2 old roommates but, that's not my only happy news. My cousin Katie is up here too! :) I am thrilled and overjoyed to have my lifelong best friend/cousin up here with me. The best part is she only lives 200 steps away from my apartment. Life is too good when Katie is around.

So...without further adew, I would like to introduce my roomies. (Yes, these crazy girls with facial masks are my new best friends because I see them all the time.)

Emily Mills, Holly Ferguson, Liz Schade, Daniela Roesberry, Jessica Davis.

Apartment #319 is a hoppin' place full of laughter, pretty girls, handsome boys dropping in, movies, homework, and friendship. I have realized that every night is like one big sleepover. It is pretty much impossible to go to bed before midnight and it is in our fate to lay in our beds and talk until the early morning hours approach. A few hours later, as I'm sitting in class, I realize that maybe that late night conversation could have been on hold because I can't even keep my eyes open. All in all, this stage of life is FUN even if sleep is minimal. I can can't wait to experience what this semester has in store.