Summer

What a summer! 

First thing's first: We Dive

It was so beautiful. 

Over the passed few years the family's favorite vaca spot has been Belize. (FTR, Belize is a third world country just south of Mexico.) Our form of transportation down there is either water taxi or golf cart. Yes, golf cart. They're so fun to drive! You gotta rough the dirt roads and pot holes to get to town. We don't care. The main reason we love and are obsessed with Belize is for the Scuba Diving! We love our buddies at the dive shop and Ambergris Caye (The island we stay on) has some of the best diving in the world. Dad, Bethany and I were Open Water certified in Belize a few years ago. This summer we decided to get our Advanced Open Water certification. On our Belize Bucket list for next time :The Blue Hole. Mom dove it like a boss a few years ago..  Check it.

BlUE HOLE, BELIZE

The view from the puddle jumper. (aka dinky little air plane we take to the island.. it sits MAYBE 12 people.) 

The Coveted Spots: Back Seats= leg room.

Who's that pretty lady? It's my mom! we had a photo shoot after a fun failed attempt to dive with whale sharks on the mainland. It was our first blue water dive. totally worth the trip. 

Tanning Buddies.

This trip was different than usual. Usually it's just the two girls and the parents.. but this time Taylor and Jessica came too! (Mckay would have been there as well if he wasn't getting smart at Georgetown University. Psh. ) Taylor won the service award. While mom and I were traveling down from the states, the rest of the family went to church on the island. It didn't take very long for them to notice the lack of musical ability. No one could play the hymns. Boom. Taylor to the rescue! (He's a site reading master... hymns = cake) After church on Sunday he set up a schedule for  piano lessons to be taught while we were there. He emphasized to us the importance of helping others help themselves. Each one of us took a turn going to that beachside chapel with him to meet and greet the members and the Elders. An overwhelming sense of love and accomplishment came to Taylor when his first student began to teach others. He had made a difference. A BIG one. It was such a memorable experience to witness. He's a good man. 

Jess was a trooper. She didn't let the fact that she was recovering from foot surgery get her down. She even got to snorkel with us! Can you say HARD CORE?!

It was such a nice getaway. We laughed, we cried, we swam, we ate, we slept, we tanned, we dove, we loved.

FUNNY: Bethany got her wisdom teeth out. 

She came out laughing. and Crying.

Father's Day: We went out to dinner! He loved his gift. If anyone knows my dad they know that our orange tabby Milo is in fact as good as a son... so to make it official, we included Milo's paw prints on his gift. (It was a hit;)

SUMMER SCHOOL

I made a Spur-Of-The-Moment Decision to apply for BYU's visiting student program and got accepted! Less than a week later a was off to Provo taking World Civilization, Book of Mormon, Contemporary Dance, and Social Dance 280! At first it was like a tornado hit my schedule.. but after a few weeks of moving and switching classes I got the hang of things and I had the time of my life! I loved that Taylor and Jessica lived 2 minutes away. We got to snuggle and eat and play all the time.

Summer School! .... why.

 World Civ was World Civ...moving on. I absolutely loved my Book of Mormon Class! My professor was absolutely amazing and insightful. I learned so much. I felt like a new person every day that I walked out of class.  He had this way of making the gospel fun and make absolute sense. Contemporary and Social were the BEST! Dancing is definitely my outlet.

I loved my walks to campus!

Happy Birthday 'Merica. I saw a firework show with my friend Julie Carver outside of the MTC! 

Play date/ Snow cone run/ pool party with Callie Woolston! She seriously ROCKS. I love her :)

Taylor took me and some of his friends up MOUNT TIMPANOGOS! Well okay, we made it 12 miles because taylor cut  his foot jumping into the lake... it bled. we turned around. good thing the mystery doctor man helped out.  

Midnight Showing of Dark Knight!! These people were legit. The joker freaked me out though... too real man, too real. 

One of the best experiences by far was being able to volunteer with the BYU Special Olympics Ballroom Dance Camp. Every tuesday we would meet at the Wilk. and dance Fox Trot and Swing. I was able to dance with some of the best people I have ever met. All of my partners were hilarious.  Their spirits were contagious! I was reminded of how good life is. Often times I think it's really easy to get caught up with all the things that are going "wrong" in life. That's not how you progress. That's not how you get anything done. A vital way of getting more out of life is remembering that you have it MADE. Life could be A LOT worse. It is for some people. I know that when I do service for others my "problems" become miniscule. Let's be honest, by participating in the Special Olympics I was the one being served far more than me serving them. I believe that these participants were angles sent to bless us and teach us of the simplicity and joy of life. Overall, this experience was a sweet reminder of how much Heavenly Father loves each and every one of His Children. I'm so glad I could be a part of it. 

Some of the Athletes with their trophies! 

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In my Social Dance class I took my very first Metals Exam!
  

The McMahons came out to Utah a week before sending Jake into the MTC  so I got to spend some good quality time with them in Salt Lake! 

This is why we're friends. Saying goodbye was hardest and best experience. He is going to be a wonderful missionary! I'm so glad that we were able to make sending him off a positive experience.

I love getting letters from Elder McMahon! He's a DL in the MTC right now. I'm so Proud!

I got to have so much fun at school! ...  I would be lying if I said that it wasn't hard at times.. or that there weren't moments of feeling completely alone and inadequate... or that i wanted to give up and come home. With that being said, there were ALWAYS experiences that made me forget those feelings.  I know that this summer was exactly the experience that i needed. God was always there. I love Him.

It's about perspective. Each and everyday we must make a choice to be happy. You can't blame anyone but yourself for being the way that you are. It's as simple as that. We make the choice to let people and experiences make or break us. Sometimes it's even ourselves that are our biggest enemies. I know that I am my toughest critic. What's important to recognize is that we are ALWAYS in control. If you want a happy life BE HAPPY. If you want good friends BE A GOOD FRIEND. If you want confidence BE CONFIDENT.  The Choice is always yours!