"No matter what happens, no matter how far you seem to be away from where you want to be, never stop believing that you will somehow make it. Have an unrelenting belief that things will work out, that the long road has a purpose, that the things that you desire may not happen today, but they will happen. Continue to persist and persevere. "-Brad Gast

The above quote is actually my background on my phone. I like it because it's a more eloquent way of saying "you win some, you lose some" (which yes, is STILL a phrase that a. I use and b. my mom despises). Anyways, it's my daily reminder to be positive and I just love. Now onto some exciting things: 

• Road trip of a life time. Two weeks ago, Marisa and I excursioned on over to Colorado. Did we play MASH? And sing every boy band/90's song on our iPads? Did we get lost? Answer: absolutely we did. It was so fun driving with Marisa because we could talk, sing AND be crazy all at the same time. On the way home, I just assumed we would stay on I-70 the whole time. Turns out that there IS actually a designated turn for Price... so when we were still on the freeway and recognizing nothing, we started to think we were lost. When we saw a sign indicating that St. George was 2.5 hours away, we KNEW we were lost. Although I wanted to cry, Marisa made the situation really fun and we ended up laughing and playing MASH. So glad I got to road trip it to see....
• ONE DIRECTION. Yes, we bought tickets in April 2012, so we were pumped. We made shirts that said "Don't worry boys, we know we are beautiful" in reference to this song (which is our friendship song!) They were pretty rockin' AND they glowed in the dark. We got to the Pepsi center and there was a HUGE line, so we missed the opening band (which we were all okay with). When we got to our seats, we freaked out because we were super close to the secondary stage. It was a magical night. I screamed with over 15,000 girls (and I'm assuming some boys). Their concert was so much fun because it was like a girl's sleepover where you just dance and sing at the top of your lungs for two hours. At one point, they came over to the second stage and I am honestly embarrassed by how excited all of us were. Actually #sorrynotsorry. I would absolutely wait another 16 months for round two. 
• Colorado. Although the main focus of the trip was 1D, we also did some touristy things. I took Marisa up to Red Rocks, showed her "the hut" (our hangout spot in high school, which is actually a lot more sketchy now that I think about it), and ate my delicious 'birthday' dinner. It was so fun. The next day we went to visit Katie and Derek's brand new baby, Ethan. I could have held that little boy for hours. He was so sweet and adorable. I cannot believe one of my friends has a baby! Weird! It was really fun to be with Katie and talk to her. After that, we swung by to the original Chipotle and ate some deliciousness. We also went downtown for a bit, which was fun until it started raining, but hey I got a muffin and we used the light rail correctly, so I would call it a win. Before we went downtown, we also go to see one of my DC/boss women, Lanae!!! She's doing a brief program at DU for editing, so we went to see her before her class. I forgot how much I love talking to this girl! (Lanae was one of the FJC interns and was part of inaugural idea of Boss Women Unite!) Anyways, she's hilarious and genuine and I just love her! :) We also got to have 'drinks' with Cassie for our 21st birthdays at Red Robin! It was so weird to think that Cassie and I are turning 21! #gettingold. Since our birthdays are a week a part, and we will be in different COUNTRIES (more on that later!), we decided to have a pre-birthday celebration. It was fantastic. Loved it! Marisa and I also did a hometown tour where I showed her all the important places (i.e. previous crushes' houses, Target, Tipsy's, etc). It was really fun to show her my life before I came to BYU! It was awesome! :) LOVE this girl! 

Here's some photos from our trip: 

Our super stellar shirts! ("Don't worry boys, we know we are beautiful")

Marisa, me and seester!

Lindsey on a stick made a visit!

Red Rocks!

The Hut

Seester and I!

The boys of 1D were that close!

Marisa, Cassie and I celebrating our 21st "birthdays" with "drinks" 

• Temple Square. On Saturday (right after we got back from Colorado), our ward took a temple trip up to Salt Lake. Most of you know how much I LOVE temple square. We got to do baptisms and the baptistry is sooo pretty. After baptisms, we walked around temple square a bit waiting for the endowed members. We were all pretty hungry so my incredible bishop treated us to fro-yo while we waited. We then all went to Spaghetti Factory, where I officially ordered my first gluten-free dish. It was so fun to socialize with our ward and be somewhere that was NOT Provo. Also, I just love Joseph and Emma. (That's the statue on the right side of the picture). I LOVE TEMPLE SQUARE! I love LOVE! :)

Sarah and I at the Salt Lake Temple and the Emma/Joseph Smith statue. 

• The Royal baby. The day before I left for Colorado, this happened:

Yep, Prince George Alexander Louis. I ADORE this couple. Seriously. ADORE.

• Work. I adore my co-workers. Even when we have the worst projects to work on, they make me laugh. The other day, we had a pretty long project moving files down in the dungeon (i.e. storage room). What should have been an awful project was so much fun because Kevin is hilarious. We laughed, danced, sang, and discovered some pretty fantastic clothing. Lincoln came down later (he was in class) and was our entertainment while we worked. He found some traffic cones and the rest was history. So glad I work with these gentlemen! :) 

Kevin and I found some beautiful gold vests. 

Lincoln, the star fish of traffic cones!

• Church. I love the gospel! :) I'm fairly certain most people know this, but I really do. I was thinking about all the things being a Mormon have done for me, and I think the greatest two things are peace and self-discipline. Many people do not understand why we have standards, and sometimes, I even question them. But recently, I've realized how much heartache the church has spared me. If I can abstain from things like coffee and alcohol, it is that much easier to have self control in other areas of my life that are more important. I have friends who are making different decisions and they just seem so unhappy. Because I have so many aspects of my life to decide  in the next year (What, I'm graduating college? When did that happen?!), I've also thought about how people make decisions without prayer and the Holy Ghost. I seriously do not even know how I would handle that. It makes me quite sad to think that people don't have that extra boost in their lives. What a great gift! Anyways, I'm thankful for the opportunity I've had to be raised as a Mormon. And I'm extremely grateful for President Uchtdorf: (He has helped with many tear-filled nights) 

My friend Amanda posted this and I LOVE IT! 

Also, if you have time, you NEED to watch this Mormon message. It makes me bawl every time. I just love how tender President Eyring is. 

"We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up.¹⁰ And He always keeps His word."

• Canada. I am officially going to Canada in three days baby! I researched it all out and I am super excited. I am treating myself to my 21st birthday dinner at a place called Cioppinos, conveniently located a few blocks from my hostel. It's supposedly the best Italian place in Vancouver AND Bill Clinton once ate there. I cannot wait for my first true friend to get married to her love! :) So excited! I'll also be going on a trolley tour, walking on the beach and going on a suspension bridge. I already bought all my tickets! It's happening people! I LOVE BIRTHDAY WEEK!

Anyways, although there are always ups and downs, I just love life! And this new boss woman song: