hey, world, hey

I have been the worst blogger in the whole wide world.

Imagine your computer screen is actually my face and throw tomatoes at it. Never read my blog again because you are so offended that I stink at updating you on my life.

Or keep reading. It's whatever your heart desires.

Personally, I would keep reading for a couple of reasons.

1) INSPIRATION -- I have been getting a lot of spiritual whispering coming my way lately. It's been about a LOT of general things, which has been awesome. I love having the spirit as a companion in my life ALWAYS. One thing that has really been sticking out to me, however, is the great potential my blog has to uplift and inspire others (Mormon or not). I don't really think that the things I write are that earth shattering, but there is ONE thing that I know for absolutely certain: when inspiration comes from Heavenly Father, following it can bring so much strength and power from no where. So, I'm not sure about my ability to lift and inspire others. Maybe the things I vomit on to this blog will turn out to be wonderful ...

2) I AM SO BEHIND -- Part of the reason I have been slaaaaaacking can be found in my blogger que. I have so many blog posts that I have started writing. Just a few of the things that I owe my lovely readers are as follows: Senior trip, graduation, EFY, my stint as an au pair, Project grad, scholarships, college craziness. Yeah ... I have a lot. Updating y'all will take time. I wouldn't expect a flood of posts in the next few days ... After this month, my life will become significantly less busy as I wait for the super late beginning to my semester at BYUI.

3) EXCITING THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN MY LIFE -- If you're not too into the religious, inspirational side of the blogiverse, never fear! I kid you not when I say that my life is about to be incredibly awesome. CORRECTION. My life already is super awesome. I have been busy, busy, busy these past couple of weeks. But the future looks incredibly sunny. I just hammered out my schedule for college in the fall (I'm SO stoked). My family is going on a 50 mile hike next week (I'm SO stoked). I'm putting in my papers for my mission in almost a month (I AM BEYOND STOKED!). If you couldn't tell, I am pretty excited about how my life is panning out. Tune in to watch the saga continue.

I promise (with extra delicious cookies attached) that I am alive and well. This post is the revival of a wonderful habit. So, just to whet your appetite (and to get me into the swing of real blogging again), here are a few pics of the fun things I've been up to.

I was one of the thirteen valedictorians in my class. I thought that was pretty sweet.

And then I actually graduated ... and my dad handed me my diploma ... and I realized  that I would never have to attend high school again. That was REALLY sweet.

My lovely parents have been supportive through it all! I am super grateful for their guidance and their general greatness.

This picture happened a couple of weeks ago. I went to my very last EFY and it was kind of bittersweet. Something that was really, really cool about EFY this year: my sister, brother and I all got to attend.

Are you satisfied? Are the tomatoes back on the kitchen counter?

Good. More is coming.