Je t'aime

Well it's almost Valentine's Day. I've never been real big on this holiday, but I figured I could think of something good to write about. I've been back in Oregon for almost a week. I miss the family. I want to be able to say that I'm having so much fun here that I don't have time to feel homesick, and though I am having fun, I miss my family so much. I suppose I haven't met anyone that helps to fill the void in my heart when I am away from all the people I love. It makes me wonder how anyone ever finds the strength to move away from their families. Does this feeling go away when you fall in love? Does that person occupy so much of your heart that you don't feel the need to be close to the people who have loved and cared for you all of their lives? Ah, l'amour....the subject I seem to be constantly writing about. Love is still very much a mystery to me. I've certainly liked my fair share of guys, but love...no. I'm pretty sure in order to be truly in love, their has to be a little love coming back :( Haha! I wish it didn't have to work that way! Then I would've had tons of boyfriends by now! Anyways there's my Valentine's blog, knock yourself out.

A New Year

It's been so great being home for the holidays! Putting puzzles together with mom, going to the movies with Curt, playing with my nieces and nephews, I have been having a fabulous time! With the coming of the new year I have been thinking about what has happened in my life. I really am thankful for everything that I have been blessed with. Life has been pretty darn good for me. My family, friends, people I have met and all the things that I have been able to do...it's been an amazing journey so far!
Anyways I haven't ever been real big on new years resolutions, but this year I've decided that there are a few goals I would like to accomplish before the year is over. First off I want to finish my book. It's all there in my head, I just need to put it down on paper. So I'm gonna take the time and do it before the year is over. Secondly I'm going to write my grampa and Cathal (my Irish pen pal) at least once a month. I've been so bad about staying in contact with Cathal, and I definitely need to let my grandfather know how much I love him more often!!! Lastly I am going to lay a big fat kiss on some hot boy so I can get myself out of the VL club! Haha, just kidding...I certainly don't have the self confidence to do something that crazy...but I wish I did :) There are a million things that I hope to accomplish this year, but as of now they are mostly unrealized. It's a new year, and anything is possible! Who knows where I'll be at the end of this year, and really I don't want to decide right now...I want to be free to let life take me where it will. That's what makes it exciting!

I am thankful for...

Well I have a million other things to do today, but I can't help but take a moment and share a little of the Christmas spirit I am overflowing with lately! I know that it hasn't even hit Thanksgiving yet, but this year I am so excited for Christmas that I can't help it, it must be the fact that I haven't seen my family in 4 months, and I am so ready to see everyone and be back home in Idaho Falls. It's sorta hard to get into the spirit when it's a beautiful, sunny, 50 degrees outside here in Forest Grove but crazy enough I am feeling it! Just the thought of going home to 3 inches of snow in Idaho Falls, and all my family makes me so excited! I'll be home for a little under two months, so maybe by that time I'll be ready to get away from all the snow, but for now I can't wait! This last weekend I went over to Boise to be with Allison (which was so much fun) but as I was driving over the pass just west of Pendleton, it was totally snowing! Now don't get me wrong, I hate driving in the snow, but I was loving this snow! I put on the Christmas music and rocked out, and when I got a chance I pulled over to take a picture. It just isn't Christmas without a little snow to go with it!! So I'm sorry that I'm not writing a Thanksgiving blog, but this year I'm thankful for CHRISTMAS!

This is Halloween!

I love the fall! All the changing colors, and the bite in the air. I'm so excited to be here in Forest Grove this year for fall, because they actually have fall here!!!! Not even worried about snow for Halloween this year, cause it doesn't happen, that's crazy! So yesterday I decorated the house with a few decorations I picked up at the dollar store. Nothing amazing because I can't afford very much, but I have to decorate for Halloween! Besides decorating I went for a little drive around Forest Grove, and you will never guess what I was looking for...so I'll have to tell you.

First off I love spooky things. I honestly don't know why, but especially this time of the year I'm totally obsessed with anything scary. So I went for a little tour of the Portland area cemeteries. Haha, I know it's a little weird. That's what someone at church told me too. I was actually going for a reason.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving by this little cemetery I always pass when I go to institute. I just sort of glanced over there and I saw something near the back of the cemetery. It was moving really fast, and it was white. I just glanced, like I said, and by the time I really looked nothing was there. A tingle of spookiness went through me so I decided I would check it out when I had some time. By the time I got to it I had done a little research on area cemeteries and I turned my adventure into a search for the spookiest cemetery around Forest Grove. As it turns out I have only been to two so far because that's all I've had time for, but I was not disappointed.

I found this one cemetery out in the country all by itself up on a little hill surrounded by trees on one side. It was around 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a little windy up on the hill, and there was nothing out there except for an old farmhouse you could see off through the trees (how scary would that be to live by a cemetery all by yourself!) The cemetery had really old graves, some that had been moved from another spot. Most had dates of around 1830-1850 on them. Some of the graves had these little fences around them, all old and falling apart. All the grass was dead in the cemetery, and it looked like no one had been there in ages. It was definitely spooky, and it would probably be a good spot to take a group and get freaked out, mainly because it's totally isolated.

Then the next day I went to the cemetery I have drivin by thousands of times. When I went there it was starting to get dark out, it was around 6:30 at night. Of course I went to check out the back of the cemetery first, and found train tracks, and then forest. It was totally spooky back there, but I had to admit that what I had seen might have been the end of a train. There are really big/old trees in the cemetery there, and the graves are even older than the ones in the other cemetery. I was walking around and I kept walking into spider webs going from the trees to the ground (and if you know me that is about as scary as it gets for me!!!) The tree roots had pushed up and knocked over a lot of the gravestones. A lot of the markers where just lying on the ground...that felt a little spooky seeing the gravestones lying on the ground like that. All in all the spookiest of the two would have been the one with the train tracks, except for the fact that it's right next to a really busy road, sort of ruins the scare.

Forest Grove has two cemeteries, but I have not been to them yet, so I guess I still have some adventures left. I have heard that at one of the Forest Grove cemeteries a lady got locked in when the groundskeeper didn't check the cemetery before he locked the gate one evening. She had called the police to come and unlock the gate, but while she was waiting she started hearing little kids playing in the cemetery. She looked all around but didn't find anyone else there. She said she started hearing footsteps crunching through the trees she had just checked. She decided to take off and leave her car when the policeman finally showed up to unlock the gate. I'll make sure to go to that one right in the middle of the day....

For a final note, I've heard that a few of the building at Pacific University are supposed to be haunted. I haven't looked into it yet, but sounds like a good Halloween project...maybe something that needs to be embarked on with a certain hot boy from my singles ward....

Forest Grove

So here I am...beautiful Forest Grove, OR. It is awesome here: trees everywhere, temperature is about perfect, snow uncommon, the coast is about an hour drive, Grampa's house is only four hours away. I love Oregon!
Pacific University is great! The professors are amazing. I don't think I've ever been at a school where I felt like the professors really cared about me as a person until I came here. All of my professors personally ask me how I am doing in class at least once a week. They seem genuinely concerned about me, not only at school but in general. It's been great for my school work because I want to do well for my professors. Crazy, I know!!!!
Church is great. I wasn't sure which ward to go to at first, so I had my records transferred to the family ward here in Forest Grove. I only went once, and then I met some kids from the singles ward when I went to institute and they told me I should go to the singles ward, so I had my records transferred there (which btw is a 30 min drive to get to.) I've met a few people and I really enjoy the singles branch! Most everyone is older there...which is strange for a young adult singles branch. The oldest person in the ward is 37, so I'm on the young side! There is a real cute guy that goes there that I met at insitute named Brandon ;) I haven't really talked to him except once, but I was the one that went up and talked to him so now all of you can stand up and cheer at how brave I am! I'll try to take a picture of him so you all can see him...but I gotta be sneaky so it might take awhile.
I love my apartment! My neighbors are sooo nice!! They're always bringing me dinner, and treats and stuff. They come over just to talk...ask me what's goin on at school, but mainly they just tell me what's going on with them. It's nice to have neighbors I've decided. I know that they look out for me so I'm not worried about living here on my own so much. It's kinda fun having my own place, but I miss everyone back home so much!!! I think about my nieces and nephews constantly! I hate not being able to see them whenever I want. It's funny how you don't realize how much love you have for someone until you don't get to see them all the time. I miss my brothers and their wives! I miss my parents and my friends. I miss my job and students! I miss not having to pay to do laundry :) It's ok though, I think all that's normal. I miss everyone so much, but I'm enjoying Forest Grove. It's not exactly what I thought it would be, but I'm happy.

Outta here!

Haha! I was just looking back through the old post and now I'm wishing I had a little longer here in Idaho Falls! I'll be headed to Oregon at the end of this week, and honestly I'm not feeling all that excited. All I can think about is how much I'm gonna miss everyone here! These past few months it's been great getting together with all my brothers and their families. Hanging out with Mark and Curt, playing with my nieces and nephews, long talks with the parents, relaxing and enjoying the summer, it really has been a pretty great summer.
We went up to Utah two days ago for my cousins wedding. It's a drive I have made probably a thousand times, but this time I made an effort to look around as we drove. Idaho is such a beautiful place...even the nothingness between Idaho Falls and Provo :) That is actually saying something considering all the places I have lived over the years. Hawaii, West Yellowstone Montana, Oregon, Utah....all beautiful places, yet I still keep ending up here in Idaho Falls. There is just so much that I love here! Not just the trees and the fields and the mountains, but the people!!
I was looking in the paper the other day and I saw that football practices start tomorrow for all the high schools. For like three seconds I thought to myself, "Wow I probably better go over to the school and get the training room ready for practices!" Then I remembered that I didn't have to do that, and then I got sad because someone else is going to be in my training room, taking care of my kids, doing my job that I loved!!! And then I started thinking about my nieces and nephews, and how much I'm going to be missing in their lives. And then I started thinking about the rest of my family, and how much I'll miss being with them. And then I took a step back and a deep breath, and tried to remember why I'm leaving. It's the right thing to do. I'm way too attached to things going on here, and I need to focus on becoming independent. It will be ok, it's not like I'm goin to Africa! Haha! I'm such a wuss! I guess I just have to face the facts and know that I'll probably be coming home a lot the first little while, or wishing I could be home!

Let's get on with it!

I went to Forest Grove a few weeks ago to check out my new school. Tiny town, but it is so beautiful there! Best part about it...probably the fact that Hillsboro is only like 9 miles away, Portland is only 30 minutes away, and the coast is not even an hour from the school! Oh and there are some extremely hot guys living there! Everyone at Pacific seemed sweet, though they don't have summer classes so there was pretty much nobody there. I talked to the athletic trainer at Pacific and it looks like I'll be working in the athletic training room. I'm actually really excited to be working with college athletes again. I'll let you figure out why on your own;) So all that said....wow, what a boring summer so far! Not only that but can it go any slower? I don't ever remember feeling this bored during the summer. I was happy to sit and do nothing, but for some reason this summer is different. Maybe it's because I feel ready to move on with the next part of my life, and so now I have no patience to sit and do nothing. I want to get out and meet people. Oh my heck I feel so stuck here in Idaho Falls where there is nothing to do and no one to see!!!!! Unfortunately I'm trying to save money for school so just takin off is totally out of the question. :( Why am I going back to school again? So I can be poor and stuck in one place for two or more years. Eww! No, I'm going back so I can get a better job someday. Well not necessarily better, just a better paying job. I'm going back so I can make some new friends(hopefully of the male variety) and try new things. This summer freakin sucks...I don't think I've ever looked forward to the start of school as much as I am now!