alexis paul sweat the vet.

mmmhmmm. 

dearest lexi got accepted into the Vet Program at Missouri!

seriously this is like med school people.

BIGGGG DEALLL.

i could not be more proud of my cowgirl.

she has worked so incredibly hard for this.

gone through so much stress.

and it all paid off.

lexi is one of the funniest people i have ever met.

so straight to the point.

so honest.

so passionate.

so fierce.

so herself.

i love love love this girl and am seriously the luckiest to call her one of my greatest friends for the rest of our lives.

mary, scotty, and i took her out to dinner to celebrate.

company was fab.

food...not so much.

dang you beehive grill.

even though Missouri is so far away and four years is a long time (kinda)

i can't imagine lex doing anything else.

she was meant for this and is gonna kick every other vet student's booty.

love you alexis. now go find yourself a hot cowboy and save those animals' lives!!

1/27/2008 & 1/28/2012

I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 4 years now. 

a decision that has changed my life in more ways than i could have possibly imagined.

i think it is so important to celebrate this day.

read through my journal entries from around this time.

look through pictures.

and just remember the sweetest/strongest spirit that was present.

i am so lucky.

blessed.

I sometimes can't believe that it has only been 4 years. 

kind of feels waaayyyy longer than that.

but in the end,

it was the most special day that will define the rest of my life.

a decision i made that will bless the lives of my future family.

i can only find 3 whole pictures from the whole day on my computer...

kind of breaks my heart.

WAY funny, right?? 

they made me laugh.

what about pictures with, oh I don't know..my family? the missionaries?? I will have to locate them.

but what makes this even better...

my best friend, you know this boy named keaton..

he gets to change the lives of people in Russia just like the Elders that taught me changed my life.

and is doing it right at this moment. 

it is almost 3 in the afternoon right now in Russia and that means he has performed his first baptism.

what an incredible feeling it is knowing that he gets to be that person that Evan will forever remember who taught him the truth.

AND to do this on his 4 month mark!

yep.

you heard it.

one sixth of the way done.

most people can't believe it has already been four months.

i beg to differ..

but i will definitely take it!

make sure you check out next week's email from Elder Flitton here.

i am sure it will be an exciting one!!

xoxo,

chan

do you ever feel like your to do lists are never ending?
that having even 28 hours in a day would still not be enough?
do you ever forget to eat a meal because you forgot to set a reminder to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
has the thought ever crossed your mind that instead of going to school to be a home ec. teacher, you would rather study engineering and learn how to build a time machine to make the next couple years fly by?

yeah, me too.

but its ok.
because i am living in the moment.
i am learning to enjoy the little things.
crossing off things on my to do list.
walking a little bit slower than usual home from class so i can have a free moment to myself and not have to be thinking about anything.
meeting new people and learning about them.
laughing at my silly mistakes.
filling up my water bottle at the drinking fountain and actually having it be cold instead of the regular room temperature water!
remembering that i am surrounded by a billion people who care for me and are more than willing to relieve even an ounce of my stress.

understanding that my Heavenly Father knows me perfectly and knows what needs to happen in order for me to become the person He wants me to be.

no matter the craziness that gets placed in front of me,
i am grateful to know there is a bigger picture.
this is only a glimpse of what is to be.

the little things are what make the big things, big things.
i gotta always remember that.

thanks for the vent sesh.
i am feeling much better now.

xoxo,
chan

Did you know...

That I have the greatest mom?
We have good chats.
Whether while in the hot tub or late at night on the phone, they are great.
We fill each other in on our lives (mainly mine) and other peoples lives of course. We are funny.
I'm so very grateful to have such a fab momma.
She keeps me on track and helps me prepare for my life.
She is supportive, understanding and wise.
Told ya she was great.

Love you mom.

My dad is really really great, too!!

Beauty.

Driving back to Logan this last week, I arrived in brigham city just around sunset. The new temple looked absolutely gorgeous!! I decided to take a little pit stop to get a closer look. I can't wait until the open house!!
I'm so blessed to be surrounded by so many temples. Logan, bountiful, salt lake, Jordan parkway, oquirrh mountain, draper, and now the brigham city!! It is so incredible.

the growth in Russia.

keat's aunt Jen, sent this video to me!

I absolutely love it! I didn't know the history of the Church in Russia at all so it was cool seeing this!

it is so special to think that Keaton is a part of this.

happy day 100!!

Top 11 of 2011

With another year behind me, I thought it would be fun to do a best 11 of 2011.
best memories, events, fun times, whatever i feel like. :)

and in no particular order:

1. my sista friend got herself married. what a great and marvelous day that was.
just how she thought it would be, except the lack of ice cream she actually got to eat at her own reception, but i think she will be fine. it seriously was such a beautiful day though. i love having a big brother. jordan is a good fit with our family and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. it definitely has been weird with my sista not home when i come home for the weekends, but it is so much fun to be able to help her decorate her apartment and just pretend to be a grown up like her! Can't believe it has already been over six months since the wedding!! now hopefully they will give me a niece or nephew to play with :)

2. Elder Keaton Flitton got called and is now serving a full time LDS mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. and what an amazing missionary he is. he has been in russia for almost four weeks now and i still cannot believe it!! this summer with him was perfect and i am so blessed to have him in my life! I'm so proud of my cute missionary!

3. I finished my first year of college! I still think it so so so weird that in just a few short months that my second year will be completed. i still feel like i could easily go back to 9th grade and be perfectly fine haha
i love being at utah state and all the fun things i have gotten to do!

4. fun weekend getaways to the cabin with my family, lava hot springs with the flitton's, and yellowstone with my girls!

5. my best friend, courtney, had the sweetest baby boy!! ah i could eat him all up he is so stinking adorable!! i have loved being home so i can go visit them any time, but i am going to miss him like crazy when i go back to school! boo.

6. my other best friend, abby, got engaged!! we all knew she would be the first out of all of our friends :) i am so very excited for her and kurt, i just still can't believe that we are old enough to be grown-ups!! i love helping her plan and cannot wait for this special day in may!!

7. bee's games this summer were splendid! we get season tickets and so i can't even tell you  how many games we went to! if keaton and i didn't know what to do some nights, we would just hop on trax and go to a game. we love baseball and i am excited for next season!

8. one of the funnest weekends ever in heber with my best friends!! we rode horses, took pictures, laughed, ate, slept, watched melanie fall out of her chair, and just had the best time ever. i sure do love my friends.

9. i changed my hair like every other month. if you know me, you know i have hair a.d.d.. this year started with long dark hair, changed to short, and then lightened way light and i chopped it even shorter, got bangs, had a week or so of coloring it a few times because i hated it, and now i am an auburn-ish shoulder length banged chick. fun fun fun.

10. i got really crafty this year. maybe the big rise of pinterest had something to do with it...we will never know. but i have made fun things that i enjoy and can't wait to use my hobby lobby gift card that i received for christmas to make some super cute throw pillows!!

11. i was surrounded by the best people each and every day. i have the best family, friends, co workers, residents, and extended family. i am so lucky to be able to look back on this year with a HUGE smile on my face. i know 2012 has so much in store for me, but 2011 was very great to me, thanks 2011: a year for the record books.


i wish you all a very happy and safe new year. may you all know and understand how marvelous life is and to give everyday your all.


xoxo,
chan