Sophomore.

In a few days school will start again and I will be as happy as can be. I'm going to be a sophomore again! Thinking about this made me remember last time I was a sophomore... in highscool. Wow. Not my best year, to say the least, but I did have lots of fun! Here's a flashback for ya! Super spooners!Missionaries for Halloween!
Shopping cart races!
Awesome friends!





Lifeguard duty at a hotel pool :)



Painting my room
GO TOROS! Football and both boys and girls basketball made it to State.
The knee injury.
Spooners.
Rachel and I! Ahh.. we still love each other today!

Good memories! I'm glad it's done and over with though!

Sophomore year here I come - you're sure to be better than last time I was a sophomore!

Birthdays!

The past 2 days have been birthdays of some rather special people in this world. So here is my post to them!
First. This guy...
My Grandpa Gunderson! Yesterday was his 75th birthday! He is one of my favorite men on this planet for so many reasons. This last semester, I read a book that he wrote and I realized that I am so ridiculously similar to him, and I can't think of a better person to be like.
He may seem soft spoken, but is very passionate about many things. Including:

* The Gospel: He has a great knowledge and love for the Gospel with a very strong testimony. This is a topic we discuss a lot at family gatherings, and questions never go unanswered.

* American pride: He is proud to be American and shows it.

* Sports: Football, baseball, basketball, frisbee, it doesn't matter. There is ALWAYS a ball game going on. Whether it be on TV, or going on outside.

* His family: Although all these things are important to him, he always puts his family above everything else.

These things have definitely worn off on me and the rest of his posterity.
He is the leader of a great family, who all look up to him. I am so lucky to know and learn from him.
HAPPY 75th BIRTHDAY GRANDPA! I LOVE YOU!!

But that's not all folks!

Today is this fantastic woman's 76th birthday!
My Grandma Phillips! She is someone that I look up to A LOT. Although we don't get to see her as much as we would like, I still have learned a great deal from her. Among those is the value of hard work. She is an extremely hard working woman and teaches all that she comes in contact with to do the same. She is very faithful in her callings and loves everyone she meets. Her selfless attitude inspires me everyday. She is the greatest.
Every year she writes poems for us on our birthday. The past few years, that is why I looked forward to my birthday. She never ceases to amaze me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! I LOVE YOU!!

The Mystery of the Internet

Soo this summer I have been one confused gal, all because of the mystery of the internet.
You see, when I came home from Thatcher I got on the internet with the intent of looking for a place to purchase a swimsuit. I found a place but the site was blocked. This set off my curiosity because I didn't think my family had that many blocks for the internet, and this was clearly a clean site. So.. I looked at my internet connection and it said I was connected to LDSAccess with a "low" singnal.. WHAT THE?! How could this be? This was from the institute! How was I getting connection from the institite when I was 150 miles away?? I didn't even get it in my apartment! It was the craziest thing!
I just thought maybe the institute wanted me back. haha. Just kidding, but really. I didn't know how this was happening! I went about my summer, and often the little icon would pop up and say I was connected to LDSAccess. I was so very confused every time.
Jeremy said that every once in a while he would be connected to ASU's institute internet as well. THEN one day his old companion, from Tucson, came to our house and he had internet from Tucson's institute! WHAT WAS GOING ON? I thought maybe the church was trying to take over the world, and this was the start of it. It was the weirdest thing. Often times that's what I would think about as I was trying to fall asleep.. ok, maybe that's a lie, but still.. I couldn't figure it out.
But alas, the story doesn't end in such confusion. Jeremy solved the mystery. Remember how we live right next door to Poston's seminary building? Ya, remember how that is a church building? Remember how all church buildings have the same password to connect to the internet, so likewise have the same internet connection?
Ha. Yes, that was it. I wasn't getting my connection from good'ol Thatcher, Jeremy wasn't getting his from ASU, and his companion/friend/dude wasn't getting it from Tucson. It was just the ol Seminary building right next door with the same LDSAccess.
I'm so glad this is solved.

If you're having a bad day...

This will help! There are some things you can't help but laugh at! :)

Family Feud

I'm usually not a big fan of TV and movies. It's just not my thing, I don't have the attention span for it or something, I don't really know (Unless, of course, you have someone to cuddle with). The extent of my TV watching is usually just Diamondbacks games and the occasional Suns game. It's the same with movies, people always get me to guess quotes from movies, haha, and I NEVER know them, unless they are Disney. I just don't watch them.

Well the other day I was home on my lunch break and my mom was watching the game show network and FAMILY FEUD came on. Oh my goodness! It was sooo funny! There was this little old lady who was HILARIOUS. Her name was Sharon, and I want to be just like her when i'm old.
My family just got this little DVR majig, where you can record any show you want. So Jeremy set it all up to record every Family Feud show that comes on. So now, at night, we can watch like 3-4 of the episodes that were on that day. And yes, we definitely play along with them and sometimes I wish I was on the show.. because I get all of the number one answers. hahaha!

Out with the old, in with the new!

Change.
That word has always scared me. I have never been a big fan of change. ever. But then I had some enlightening thoughts that have CHANGED me, haha ironic?
It all started when I realized I have a great need for improvement in my life. I have so many weaknesses that need some attention. asap. So I was thinking of my plan to perfect my life and realized how much CHANGE this was going to entail. This got me thinking again (It's times like this when I wonder why I deny all ADD accusations. haha!). Change isn't all bad. It can't be. Obviously my realization that I needed to better my life, and can only do that by changing my current ways proved that. BUT. It's more than that. Much more ...

In fact, CHANGE IS GOOD! It defines us and makes us who we are. We all have so much potential and we can't become the people we need to be without it. So don't sit back and watch life fly by. Stay on your toes and reach for every oppertunity that comes your way. Whatever it is, no matter how scary it sounds, it enters your life for a reason, to help you develop into that person you need and want to be. Everything happens for a reason, and everything makes you grow in one way or another. That I firmly believe. Changing is simply growing. We all need to grow.

I have gone through a lot of change throughout my life. Some of it was because I wanted it and welcomed it. Some of it was forced upon me, there was no way out of it. But all of it has helped me. Even when I didn't see it at first. It has shaped me into who I am. Change is here to help and define. Once we learn that, and welcome it into our life we will become much happier. We will not have to do anything that we can't handle, the Lord has promised us this. If it finds a way into our life, we can conquer it. No matter what.

Once we've mastered that.. here's the next step. GO FIND A WAY TO CHANGE! Ya, you heard me. Look for it. Life is what we make it. ( I really hope I just thought of that on my own, and didn't get it from that darn Miley Cyrus song:)). We can be anything we want to be and do anything we want to do. We just have to put ourselves out in the world and find the oppertunities out there that will help us on our way to become the people we want to be, even if it means leaving our comfort zones.

There is a lot of choice in change. A lot of that is our attitude. We can be positive and just go with it, making the most of it. Or, we can be miserable and blind, and not learn and grow from it. We choose how we react to every situation. Choose to be happy. Attitude is everything.

When this gets too overwhelming, just remember you can do it. The Lord will make sure of that. He will help you in every way possible. I know that. Write things down, start small, you can't change the world all at once.

Change is good.

I think I'm ready. NOW BRING ON THE CHANGE!

I love this house.

AAAnnd it's mine! And want to know what else?? It's still going to be mine because WE'RE NOT MOVING!!! And that makes me as happy as can be! I can now sleep better at night! Thank goodness for refinancing!! :) :)
Oh and ps, see that sign on our lawn? That's a Rich Crandall sign, I wouldn't mind if you felt so obliged as to vote for him. Just saying.
Oh and something else. MATTHEW COMES HOME ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!! AHH! My life is awesome!