Mondays are good days

It's 12:08am and I can't sleep. Nights like these are happening more often. 

I don't know why. 

Maybe it's because my mind is racing with a million different thoughts: my mission, school, what I'm going to eat for breakfast, things like that.

Or maybe I can't sleep because I got a sweet email from Elder Boyd earlier today...

Ya, that's probably why! 

Mondays have become such well anticipated days for me. It has been so fun for me to get weekly, personalized emails just for me from my best friend who is serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nicaragua! It's so fun to hear about Grant's successes and to see his testimony grow and grow and grow! He's such an awesome, 'on fire,' missionary who is changing many lives!

AND, what's so cool is that in a couple of months our lives will be very similar again...We'll both be in South America (Grant in Nicaragua, me in Uruguay) preaching this wonderful gospel to those who are searching for the truth. I can't wait! The church is true, oh so true!

(Don't these pictures make you smile?)

I'm smiling.

#2011babyfaces

My friends become Mrs.

Can being a bridesmaid be considered a hobby? 

I sure do consider it a hobby.

It is so fun to be apart of my friend's special days. They have been waiting for this day for their entire lives and I get the privilege to be apart of it. 

I soak up that moment wedding dress shopping with them. I soak up the moment when they walk out of those beautiful temple doors with their new husbands in hand, showting and cheering. They did it. I soak up the moment of seeing them glow in their beautiful wedding dresses. I soak up the moment of giving them the biggest hug. I soak up the moment of taking pictures and everyone smiling from ear to ear. I soak up the moment of seeing my dear friends completely and utterly in love with their perfect man. It is so fun and it makes me so happy.

And that, my friends, is why I consider being a bridesmaid a hobby.

Part 1 of the wedding festivities

Is one of my BFFEs seriously getting married in one month? Unreal. 

We had a bridal shower in the bride-to-be's honor. She was given lots of home decor and useful kitchen things, but the gift that topped it off was the unmentionable gift that begins in L and ends with ingerie. As she pulled that article of clothing out from the bag, I couldn't help but feel getting embarrassed. I started blushing. My face turned bright red like a cherry tomato. Boy am I in for a treat when it is my turn to get hitched and I have a bridal shower and/ or bachelorette party. 

And the food! The food at this bridal shower was divine! Homemade tomato soup, rolls, salad...girl food. Anyways enough talking about the food. The bride to be is so wonderful and is going to be the most beautiful bride. Her bridesmaids sure love her.

Tayva, Carly, Jessie (the bride), me, Taryn

Now onto the next party....the bachelorette party! It'll be the party of the year. I'll keep ya posted ;)

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.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! To get in the Halloween spirit, I thought it would be fun to post some old Halloween pictures, the ones that go wayyyy back and the ones just a few years ago. So many good memories...homemade costumes are seriously the best.

1995: bumble bee Katie/ 1998: Dorothy Katie with cousins/ 

1999: Mom & Katie 50s girls with rocking poodle skirts/ 2001: Farmer Katie and Ghost James

2008: Cami D, Katie, Madison's flower patch/ 2009: Crayons with my best friends/

2010: Hippie Katie, Emily, and Ashley/ 2011: Cowgirl Katie with roommates

BUT, my parents have taken the "most creative" costume award over the past couple years. Most of the costumes were purchased at  thrift stores.

Introducing...

Costume #1 (pictured below): 

A pregnant lady (dad) and his doctor (mom)

Costume #2: 

An old retired couple.

Costume #3:

Dad as a hunk-of-burning-love jock and mom as a disco 60s girl. What a hoot!

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...

memories

I was scrummaging through some old photos 

this weekend and it brought back some fun memories.

jessie's birthday in black and white

It was my best friend's day of birth yesterday and let me tell ya, I'm glad she was born. She had the absolute best birthday.

We went out to lunch at Liberty Market. We ran into one of Jessie's old boy friend that works there, we chatted, we laughed, and we ate a really healthy lunch. 

We talked about boys, actually one boy imparticular for her ;) We even imagined/joked/guessed/believed that Jessie's boy would propose that night because well, we did already go wedding dress shopping for goodness sakes!

 The birthday lunch date ended and we parted ways. I headed to Mesa for a study sesh while Jessie headed home to finish some homework. Apparently she came home and there we surprises waiting for her from Mr. Josh Boyd! 

Josh picked her up for her birthday date that night. Their first stop was the temple, and there at the temple....

*******

HE PROPOSED!!!!!! 

At 12:30am, just as I was dosing into a deep sleep, my phone rang. It was Jessie. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "Oh my goodness! Is this what I think it is?!!!"

Jessie: "Katie! He proposed! I'm getting married!!! I'm floating on cloud 9!"

Me: "AHHHH!" 

The was the happiest phone call I have ever gotten late at night. 

I'm just in love with these two. They are so perfect & I couldn't be happier for them. 

Josh and Jessie Boyd has a nice ring to it! :)

Here's to wedding planning, a bridal shower, parties, hard core working out, bridesmaids, and the lovebirds!

weekend wrap up.

The weekend came and went too fast.

1. Friday night I went on a date with Trent. The best part about it was we doubled with my best friend Jessie and her lover Josh. The other best part about it was we went to the temple to do baptisms. 2. After the temple, we went back to Jessie's house to play a wicked game of Apples to apples. We ate ice cream too and had a good time. 3. Then we decided to take some funny pictures. 4. The cuuuute couple :)

4. The next day, I went boating with Emily's ward. What fun. I love wakeboarding and cute boys!

not pictured:
5. That night, after a fun day at the lake, I went on a date, sunburned, tired, and everything. We made a mexican dinner and played games. 6. Sunday was a busy day. I made cookies for my brother's meeting, went to my own Relief Society presidency meeting, went to church, played the organ, and came home to a yummy Sunday meal with my family.

All in all, what a great weekend! I was pretty bummed when my alarm clock went off Monday morning because that meant another week of work and school. I'm already looking forward to next weekend!