This has been a whole month..? Its already October...?!

I LOVE my major!! My classes are so great! Buuuuut.... they keep me super busy. I have been living day to day [or sometimes hour by hour] to get things done. So now that I am relaxing at home between sessions of the wonderful General Conference, I have decided to try to update my blog :) And just maybe this will be a motivation for my sister to do the same! [hint hint!!] ;)

The John Mayer/Owl City Concert
I had such a great time at this with Karina and 2 of her sisters. The concert was at the USANA Amphitheater in the Western Salt Lake Valley on a beautiful day at the end of August. We sang and danced in our blanket seating while Owl City performed, but pretty much everyone around us just kept talking and walking around. They obviously didn't care about Owl City, which was sad. I was mostly there for them and the rest of the audience was not, but it was still awesome :)


Timpanogos Hike
A group of people from my ward decided to hike Timpanogos Mountain on Labor day. My roommates Karina and Ashley were way excited for it and after a lot of convincing I joined them. We left our complex at 5:45, started the hike around 7 am, and finally got to the top around Noon. It was an amazing hike, but it was the most intense thing I have ever done! I am not in shape, I no longer have an inhaler, and we were climbing 6.8 miles to the second highest peak of the Wasatch Mountains. I was grateful that I had great friends help and encourage me all along the way or else I might have just sat on a rock and waited for them to come back down.
The view was beautiful! I felt so accomplished and proud of myself for finishing! I still look up at Timp and am amazed that I stood on top of it. I sure felt the effects of that hike for a while, but it was very worth it! :)


Haircut
Ever since I donated my hair Freshman year of High School I have been growing my hair. I have always felt like its still short and I needed to grow it longer. This mental block started coming down occasionally when I would realize just how long my hair really was... and so I finally cut it. It was crazy to stand up afterward and see so much hair all over the floor that was no longer attached to my head. I love my haircut though!

Before: notice how it goes beyond the visible picture

After!

IKEA
I love this store. It is amazing, entertaining, and full of the cutest furniture and decorations that I want in the future. For every school year I have made a trip to IKEA to get supplies and decorations, and this year it was so fun with my new roommates! We are known as the HACK Pack because our names are Holly, Ashley, Clarissa, and Karina [H.A.C.K.] and we have been told we all move in a pack, so we are the HACK Pack :) Our adventures in IKEA were very entertaining and this is where the very first picture of all 4 of us together was taken :)


Ice Blocking
I had heard other people talk about doing this many times before so I was way excited when my apartment was invited to go to Rock Canyon Park and try it out for ourselves. We purchased blocks of ice at a gas station, brought towels, wore clothes we wouldn't mind getting grass stains on, and then had many adventures learning how to slide down the hill! You fold up the towel and set it on the block, then you sit on the towel and use your feel/hands to balance yourself as you quickly slide down the grassy hill. It was a blast! I wasn't very good at going straight for very long or staying on top of my ice block, but it was hilarious. We had quite an audience as little kids at the park wanted to see us slide, so it was very fun :)

Notice how I am no longer sitting on my ice block in this picture, haha

Broken Bed
I fell asleep one night while doing my homework on my bed. This is a pretty common occurrence when I try to be productive while sitting in bed. Ok, so I fell asleep and then Karina came in a little bit later and convinced me to get up and actually get ready for bed. I had put on my PJs and was about to lay down when my roommate Ashley came in and jumped on my bed to tell us something crazy that had just happened. When she landed on my mattress, the bed collapsed underneath her. I stood there in shock for about a minute, and didn't move for about 5 more minutes. My bed had just broken. The bed I was just about to lay down on had broken. One side of the frame had become detached from the headboard and foot-board so my mattress was at a crazy angle and was resting on stuff I had stored under my bed. Crazy. I ended up sleeping on the couch and thankfully my bed was fixed by the time I got home the next day :)



Recapturing Beauty Lecture
Stephenie Nielson gave a lecture at BYU Thursday night about her experience and I was able to attend! It was an amazing opportunity to be there and to feel the Spirit and the emotion during her talk. There were SO MANY people there that the entire BYU Ballroom was crowded past the limit. Thankfully I got there early and I had a great seat. I even sat by a reporter for the Deseret News and she asked me some questions, so I was featured in her article. [I'm on page 2 :)] Stephenie posted pictures of the event on her blog and I found my face in it too! haha It was such an amazing lecture! She is an incredible woman and an amazing example.


Surprise Family Visit
I got a text Friday morning from my cousin Jacey saying that she was going to be at BYU for a campus tour later that day and she wanted to meet up! I was so excited :) After my class I met up with Jacey, Christie, Nancy, and Katy and was able to spend a few hours with them. I love having family around and getting to spend time with my cousins! They are all amazing women and I'm so glad we got a chance to meet up!


So there ya have it. I have had quite a month here at BYU so far! I am loving it all and having a blast with my roommates, my new ward, my classes, and all the random adventures that come along the way!