Elder Henry B. Eyring

This was given to me at church yesterday and I fell in love with it! I am going to live by this motto from now on!

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

The dye has been cast.

I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer nee pre-eminence, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity.

I don’t have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer and labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven.

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me.

And when He returns for his own, He will have no problem recognizing me.

Because….

My Banner will be clear.

The Goo Goo Dolls

Awww... The Goo Goo Dolls...!!

They have been one of my favorite bands since I was 12 and I will always be a fan! 

This summer I was able to see them twice! Once in Vegas in June for my 22nd birthday and then in Park City this August. I won the Meet & Greet in Park City and you would've thought I won a million dollars! :)

 AAAHHHHH!!! So excited!

 My mom and I waiting in line for the concert

 I sneaked a picture while waiting in line :)

My meet & greet photo

Just a little clip of my favorite song - Black Balloon

Towards the end of the concert they let us go up to the stage.

Tyler and Kellie

Santa Monica, CA

This summer has been a blast!

I have been able to take some time off work this summer and it has been wonderful! I also got to spend my time off with my great friends! I don't know what I would do without them! In June I went to Vegas with my friend Christy and this month I went to Santa Monica, CA for four days to visit my friend Haley. I am so glad that I have them in my life! 

Haley is doing an internship this summer in California and I'm so glad I was able to visit her. We had so much fun, we ate lots of great food and I spent way too much money! 

A few pictures from my trip to Cali:

A crazy wreck we passed! Someone was still inside trying to get out.

Venice Beach

Muscle Beach - I thought this was hilarious! Muscular men workout at a gym on the beach where everyone can watch them. 

Santa Monica Pier

 I'm was so proud of Haley! She rode the Ferris Wheel!

 The view...

 I love Palm Trees

 El Matador Beach in Malibu

Haley and I spent all day Sunday, and I mean all day, shopping at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. There were Smurfs everywhere and everyone thought this huge Smuf was amazing, so I had to take a picture.

 Ice Cream Sandwiches from Diddy Riese. 

They are the best ice cream sandwiches I have ever had and they are only $1.50!!!!

A cool picture of the sun I took.

Wisdom Teeth

June 14th I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I was beginning to have problems with my checks swelling and always feeling like someone punch me in the side of the face, so I was pretty excited to have them removed. The surgery went well and I felt fine. A few days after the surgery the swelling in my face got worse and I had to go back to see the Oral Surgeon. He said I had abnormal swelling and gave me an antibiotic to take to help the swelling go down. I wasn't in any pain but I had a hard time eating, talking and I couldn't smile. It was pretty funny so I decided I should take some pictures.

Right after surgery. The strings are connected to the cotton balls that are in the back of my mouth. I don't remember taking this picture of myself at all! Haha

Later that night. You can see the start of a little swelling.

The day after surgery:

I decided to go to work the day after because I didn't just want to sit at home. I had only been to work for two hours when my boss told me to go home because the swelling in my face had gotten worse. 

Haha! My moms creation! This helped out a lot! I was getting sick of holding ice packs on my face so my mom decided to tie two bandanas together to help hold the ice packs.

The third day: 

When I woke up that morning, the swelling in my face had moved down the right side of my neck and up the inside of my eye on the left. I went back to see the Oral Surgeon and he said that I had abnormal swelling. Haha I'm smiling in this picture!!! 

 I decided to FatBooth myself. The top picture is a normal picture of me and the bottom picture is the FatBooth version of me. Haha! 

I turned 22!

Christy took this great picture of me fueling up on our way to Vegas!!

We were so excited and a little nervous!

It was our first "far away" trip without our mothers. haha

This was the second time I got to spend my birthday in Las Vegas! Last year my mom took me for my 21st birthday and this year my friend Christy and I went. It was a blast and I would love to do it again!

We got to spend the weekend at the GREAT Red Rock Resort! I would love to stay there again and would recommend it to everyone. They are very welcoming and the staff is great! It's also 20 miles away from the strip so you are far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and it only takes about 2o minutes to get there from the Red Rock.

Their pool is AMAZING!

They have lounge chairs that sit in the water!

We had to get to the pool right when it opened to get a good spot. It would fill up fast!

This is our room! I loved it!

The Red Rock has a ton of things to do. There was bowling, movie theaters, a huge food court and great restaurants to eat at and more.

My favorite was the Bagel Cafe. They had yummy bagels and...

This WONDERFUL Cheese Cake!

After we walked around our hotel when we first arrived we decided to make a trip to the strip. One of my favorite places to eat in Vegas is the delicious MargaritaVille! One of my all time favs!

The boat we got to sit at.

The best nachos ever! I'm so glad Christy shared some with me!

Christy and I outside Caesars

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This is the reason I wanted to go to Vegas!

To see my FAVORITE band play.

This was the best birthday present to myself!

Of course I wanted Christy and I to be the first people to be at the doors when they opened so we could get a good spot right in front of the stage. As we were waiting for an elevator on our floor the doors to the VIP elevators opened up and out walked the Goo Goo Dolls guitar player Robby!!!!

I ALMOST DIED!

I have been a fan since I was 12 and I'm still crazy about them. I told him we were going to their show that night. He shook mine and Christy's hands and introduced himself... I was so star struck that I forgot to ask for an autograph or even a picture!

I have met a couple other band players before and none of them were as nice as Robby. They usually don't care and just want to move on.

Christy and I were able to be front row center! I was so excited about it and still couldn't believe we just met Robby... haha

The concert was GREAT and we got to meet some crazy fans while we were waiting for the show to start. I would have to say the best part of that night was when Robby looked and me and said "I just saw you!" I almost died again then... haha I couldn't believe he remembered me and couldn't believe he picked me out of the crowd.

This is the concert jacket I got after the show..

Every concert I got to I always buy a concert shirt..

At this concert I got a little more than just a T-shirt.

Their setlist from off of the stage was thrown at Christy and I

and of course I wanted to keep it. :)

Their pick was also thrown at the crowd.

Poor Christy... I think I punched her when I saw it land closer to her and yelled at her to get it.

She's such a great friend!

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The next day was my birthday and Christy wanted to make it a great day!

We decided that we would travel back to the strip and eat dinner at MargaritaVille and then go to the Chippendales! I was a little nervous about it but figured I would probably never have the chance to see the Chippendales ever again.

When we bought the tickets they told us that it's better to be a couple hours early to get a good spot... We ended up getting there 45 minutes before it started. When we gave them our tickets they escorted us to our seats and they were FRONT ROW CENTER!!!! Bahaha

I ALMOST DIED FOR THE THIRD TIME!

We had a blast and got our pictures take with all of the men..

This will definitely be a birthday I will never forget!

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Leaving Vegas!

I am so glad I got to spend my birthday in Vegas with my great friend Christy! She made it a lot of fun and we had a great time the whole time! We got to spend the first day of our vacation with her family in Cedar City, UT at the Special Olympics for the opening ceremony. They bought me lunch and dinner and let me stay with them. They are truly great people!