Lent!

I decided to participate in Lent this year because I think it is a wonderful way to show devotion to Heavenly Mother, Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ our Saviour! I really wanted to give up something that meant a lot to me and would be difficult for me to give up! So guess what it is that I gave up... ICE CREAM! Holy cow, it was a very long 6 weeks. :) On Ash Wednesday, the day I gave ice cream up, Matt and I went grocery shopping and he was so sure that I would last longer than a few days that he bought me a whole new 1/2 gallon of cookie dough ice cream and he bought himself a 1/2 gallon of strawberry swirl. He ate it right in front of me and when he finished his whole thing in about 2 weeks I had to watch him eat my whole carton! By the time I could eat ice cream again that whole carton was gone!!!

But on a real serious note it was wonderful to give up something that I love to show my devotion to God! I thought about ice cream so much that it made me think of Jesus and his example, sacrifice and love! It also was a real strong reminder of the sacrifice that was made for me and all mankind. I was grateful to have something that helped me keep a true perspective 6 weeks before Easter.

Lent began on Ash Wednesday (February 25th) and concluded on Holy Saturday(April 11th), the day before Easter. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter", a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death.

The number forty has many Biblical references: the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18); the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8); God made it rain for forty days and forty nights in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:4); the Hebrew people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33); Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh forty days in which to repent (Jonah 3:4).Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2).

I truly enjoyed participating in Lent. I know I didn't follow every tradition of lent but I at least wanted to give up something to show my devotion to God and keep my mind focused on my Saviour. I definitely felt more spiritual as it got closer and closer to Easter. The sacrifices that were made for me and everyone else in this world are absolutely indescribable and really unfathomable. I try to think about how Christ must have felt and what all he went through! My mind can't even understand a small portion of it, it is far too great a sacrifice for anyone else to understand but Christ himself! This year I thought about that sacrifice every day for 6 weeks and I felt closer to Him. What a wonderful tradition to keep. Even though I am not Catholic I wanted to participate in Lent because I think it is a tradition that anyone who is spiritual and believes in Christ could enjoy and benefit from participating in. I'm sure glad I did and I think this will be something that I will participate in each year!

If Today Was Your Last Day - Nickelback Song!

If Today Was Your Last Day
Songwriters: Kroeger, Chad;

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3gAgIMuRs4

Snowboarding season is over!

Lovin Life!!!

 

Definitely!!! 

My snowboarding season is sadly over! This year I bought a pass to Powder Mountain located conveniently about 17 miles from our condo! Lovely! Josh & Jess got a pass too! We had a ton of fun going together a few times and I also went by myself quite often. There is just something about being on a board, flying down a massive mountain and floating on powder that I just can't get enough of!  
The beauty of nature takes my breath away! I enjoy being on the lift almost as much as I enjoy riding down the mountain. I've seen porcupines climbing the trees and chipmunks running around. It's all so majestic and spiritual! I'll definitely miss it! Good thing I know that the snow will be back next year and I can do it all over again! :) Hooray for that! Til next season... 

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."  ~George Washington Carver

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright."  ~Henry David Thoreau

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”

Do you love the pink?

Do you love the pink?

So I actually first tried to dye my hair bright purple in December but it turned bright pink so this time I just decided to dye my hair bright pink again, I don't really like change all that much! :) Ha Ha Yeah Right! So a co-worker of mine did it and it looked pretty good! It was really really bright, about 10 times brighter than it is in this picture but that's just cause it hadn't faded or anything yet. So I was really pretty happy with it and then... I showered! :) Well I guess there was some dye still in my hair that wasn't rinsed out because when I got out my whole head was pink! Even my hands were pink from washing it! I washed it at least 4 times and there was still pink water going down the drain so I washed it again and again! Finally I got it to the point where it was just normal water going down the drain but oh my heavens my hair was destroyed!!! I dried my hair and I had light pink spots in some areas and it was darker in others but almost every strand of hair was pink! That was not what I had, had in mind! :) I thought it was pretty funny! Every one had something to say about it! I went to work and did all my activities, I don't think one resident went without commenting on my hair, and the staff had even more to say about it! Now I know what it feels like to have a ton of attention (unwanted attention, might I add). I felt like some of those people who just dress crazy and dye their hair crazy for the attention! It was bad! I went to the grocery store for like 10 minutes and I had over 6 people comment on my hair in that 10 minutes, not to mention all the stares that I got! My co-worker wasn't able to fix it right away so I had to spend 2 days with COMPLETELY PINK HAIR!!! :) Oh my heavens it was crazy. Luckily I'm not really the type of person that cares what other people think, people would straight up tell me, "What did you do to your hair?" or "Is that permanent, I sure hope not," some people in the grocery store were like "totally retro dude!" I was totally fine with the comments, good and bad, but I definitely did not like all the attention. Anyways...so I had it fixed and totally stripped my hair of any nutrients it had but at least I got it back to the way I wanted it! Now I love the pink! I think it is really pretty! And it matches my snowboarding pants! I actually still get a lot of comments about my hair when I'm up on the slopes just because my hair, scarf and pants all match! :) Ha, Good Fun! It's too bad I didn't take a picture when it was all pink. The pink has also faded quite a bit in this picture but you get the gist! Anyways... I love it! What do you think?

Girls Night Out! :)

So every year during conference weekend while the boys are all at priesthood session on Saturday night all the girls go out to dinner. I think we are starting the tradition of going to Olive Garden every year now :) Not really... just no one wants to decide and that is my favorite so that's where we have been going the past few years. This year it was just my grandma, mom, jess, and me. We forgot to take pictures at the restaurant so we had to when we got home but sadly my grandma was already dropped off at home... so it's just the three of us in the picture. It's nice to catch up with just the gals! My grandma was so cute! She doesn't really go out to eat much because my grandpa does not like to eat very much, unless it's ice cream :) but who can blame him for that! So she was excited to go out to a nice restaurant and eat some good food. So when the waiter came to take our plates she was almost done and didn't want a box. So she turns to us and says, "Well I came here to eat and that's what I did! I probably ate too much but it was so good going down!" :) I always do that too! You're fun grandma! I'm glad we could all get together and go out! Usually we have Breanna and Shannon with us which makes it even more fun but we couldn't ask them to fly here just so we could go to dinner together! We missed you tonight though Shann and Bre! It wasn't quite the same without you there! We love you! And thanks mom and grandma for dinner! Love you! I'm glad we have this tradition!

Jon's Graduation in AZ

I'm just so proud of Jon for graduating from his mechanic school in AZ. He went out there all alone and had a lot of things go wrong right from the get-go, namely his truck and all his belongings being stolen! But despite all the hardships he excelled in all of his courses and really enjoyed learning all about the mechanics of motorcycles, snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and all that good stuff :) Anyways... the point is, I'm very proud of my older bro!!!! Love you Jon!!!

Jon and his adopted bro while he was there!

I'm glad we were all able to fly out and support him at his graduation!

Our family celebration dinner!

Here's a picture of me and Jon when he came back! I'm glad to have him home!!!