I LOVE BEING HOME!

Cute K and I 

                                      

                                         A little Japan status for Michael coming home :) 4 days! 

Rexburg was wonderful but it is so nice to be home spending time with the family! Since I have been home I had about 1-2 weeks before my parents headed off to Japan  to pick up Elder Garry so exciting!  So lately I have been playing mom.  It is crazy but so fun.  I find myself never sleeping because I am constantly thinking about what I need to do and if the kids are breathing etc.  Haha Crazy!  We had a really fun time tonight we had a water fight, well K, M and I.  M the little stinker didn't even get wet.  K and I got soaked.  haha so cute though! 

Happy 19th Birthday Shelley Heaton!

Shelley Heaton, so much to say.  I Love you to death!  You have always been there for me in everything.  Words cannot express how blessed I am to have you in my life.  You have shown me how to stand tall during the hard times and always gave me the confidence that I can do anything I put my mind to.  You have one of the strongest testimonies I know.  I admire you and your drive to always keep your faith in the Lord. Your Personality is the best! As nacho would have said it. :)  I owe you much more than I could ever repay you in a life time. I am so sad I cannot spend this special day with you.  But when I get back we will have another birthday so you will basically have two! :)  Thank You for the support you give me in everything!  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! :)  Please have a most excellent BIRTHDAY!!  Don't ever forget who's in charge?! :) 

19 things I love about Shelley Heaton:

1. Positive Attitude

2. Loving

3. Strong in the gospel

4. Drives like a grandma ;) sometimes

5. Her smile

6. Her intelligence 

7. Endurance through life's challenges

8. Dance Moves

9. Soccer Skills 

10. Beautiful

11. Inspiring quotes

12. Self-less

13. Gentle

14. Hard Working

15. Fun to be around

16. Great cook

17. Forgiving

18. Her sweet spirit

19. Most important She's my Best Friend! :) 

  

                                                              Best Friends Forever! :) 

                                                    You can count on them for anything 

                                           High School would have been the worst without you

                        

You were the prettiest Prom Queen Ever!

Life would be ZERO fun without you! 

You are beautiful Inside and Out! 

You always know how to make me laugh! :) 

BFF's forever and Eternity!  

She's a Keeper!  

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY!  

LOVE YOU! 

:) 

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! 

Wedding Scheme Ideas!

If I didn't want to be a Nurse I would totally be a wedding planner!  I love weddings, the colors, the dresses, catering it is all so much fun!  Not to mention they are marrying the man of their dreams :)  Not to shabby of a day if I say so myself.  Anywho I just wanted to post some ideas see if you like them!
 
Color Scheme #1:
Pink, Green, and Gold.

I love how classy and beautiful these colors make it look.  They are simple but not over simple.  They still add a pop to your wedding.  It is so elegant! 

Color Scheme #2:

Red and Aqua blue 

I absolutely Love these colors as you can tell from my last post.  They just make the wedding so much fun and they are so cute and summery!  I would love to do these colors at mine someday but who knows! :) 

Color Scheme #3:

Yellow and Gray

I don't really love the cake but the gray suites are one of my favorite things of these weddings!  

It is just so stinking cute!  If you need help with picking out your wedding colors I would love to help just let me know! :) hahaha 

Red Kitchen Aid/Kitchen Ideas

For my Birthday my parents got me the coolest birthday gift ever!!! Yes a
Fire Engine Red Kitchen Aid!  If you know anything about me you should know that I absolutely love to cook!  Especially treats.  They had it wrapped up with a bow on top of it.  I had no clue what it could be and was super confused.  When I took off the wrapping I almost started crying from how excited I was about it!  I really wanted one for college but I thought well you don't really need one I can just wait till I get married or older.  But they caught me off guard when I saw it.  My apartment and I have put it to use making Cookies, Brownies, Rolls, cakes etc.  It really adds to the kitchen in our apartment as well.  :)

My friends make fun of me because when I have my own house I want a RED and AQUA BLUE kitchen.  It sounds gross but I promise it will be cute I will post some pictures of my ideas and PLEASE tell me what you think!

Now obviously I want mine different than this but I like the red accents and red walls.  Do you thin red or blue walls?  Plus I love the white.  I want it to look very cute and warm.  :)

                Or this wall color is really pretty! I love how relaxing it makes the home feel.

I REALLY LOVE THIS!!!! I would do red accents though and maybe a different counter tile.  But don't you think my Red Kitchen Aid would look so cute?! :) hahaha

I just thought this was so cute!  It would be so fun to decorate a beach house and have these fun little signs and colors come together.  I love the beach.... :)

If I didn't do red I would totally do this!  Look how cute that would be!   But I could do both red and blue.  :)  Ahh dreams are great! :)

Posting a ton!

I apologize for posting so much, just to start out with.  But my english class this is one of the projects we have to do and I have to do it for 5 hours at least so I kind of have to post a lot! haha So expect a couple more in the next little while! :)

Inspiring

My mom and I were talking the other day on the telephone.  We were discussing life and what plans I had what plans that she has and has been dealing with.  When she shared a quote with me that struck me hard.  Lately a lot of bad things have been happening to people around me.  Somethings are brought upon themselves by their own choices, others bad things just happen.  I was complaining about something that wasn't going particularly the way I wanted it to go and she pulled out this quote.  

It is by Bill Gates whom we all know is very successful.  He gave this talk at a high school he gives 11 rules that you will not learn in school.  They may seem harsh but bear with me.  

Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it! Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity. Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time. Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

When I first read this I thought wow well that was really harsh.  But then I realized he is completely correct.  We expect this life to be easy sometimes and that things should go our way.  But that is not what the gospel teaches.  We are told that we will face challenges in our lives, that is the whole purpose of our life here on this earth. To be tested. Without trials we would never be able to grow and learn.  When we fall down we need to be able to pick ourselves back up and keep trudging forward.  Always abounding in faith and courage, knowing that the Lord will guide our every moves, if we let him.  One thing that I needed to realize along with half of the world is that LIFE ISN'T FAIR.  It won't be today and it sure won't be in the future.  We won't always be number one in a race, or have a 4.0 all four years of college.  We don't always get the boy we want or the shirt that we are dying to buy.  We don't always pass our tests, which we put so much time and effort into.  That is just part of life.  It is learning how to make the best from those times that will make us more like Jesus Christ.  It is in the lowest of moments where we will truly make something of ourselves. I love my mom she is so wise and makes me realize when I am being unchrist like. The other day when I called her I was complaining how I wasn't being blessed for all that I was doing.  I explained to her that I was reading my scriptures everyday, saying my prayers, going to all my church meetings, going to the temple etc. I asked her why isn't it going my way Shouldn't I be blessed for my righteous doings.  She caught me off guard when she said, "Melissa Ann, do you really think that you would be doing those things if your life was easy?  If you were getting A's on all yours tests and had everything going perfect, would you really turn to the Lord?  Would you feel that you need his help everyday?"  I paused taken back her answer and immediately was filled with regret for my complaining.  She was right I wouldn't be as dedicated to the Lord if I thought I could do it all on my own.  So I had to make a choice.  It all begins with a choice am I going to sit and wallow in failure or am I going to look at the glass half full and succeed to what Heavenly Father knows I can?  We make the decisions in our lives no one else can for us.  I hope we can each Choose to stand tall in times of heartache and trouble.  

                And always remember the words from Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8, 

7 "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.  8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

Our afflictions are but a small moment and the Lord will always guide and direct us through the Holy Spirit if we are willing to listen. 

The last thing i want to share with you one of my Best Friends Shelley Heaton shared with me.  Please watch it I promise it will help you with the trials you are going through and give you hope.  

                                                              I LOVE YOU ALL! :) 

New Favorite Song!

On the same day we went river rafting my friends and I had a dance party of course in the CAR!  It was a 3 hour drive there and back so we needed something to entertain ourselves.  Anyway this was not one of the dancing ones but I really liked it.  It is super cheesy but it's great!  I thank Katie Kelley and Savannah Driscoll for this great song!  Love you Girls! :)

 

FHE and DOUBLE RAINBOW!

As the semester is coming to a close it makes me sad to think that I will no longer have FHE with my school family... I have been truly blessed this semester with such a fun family!  We have all bonded and even though we only have 3 boys they are the greatest!  Yesterday was our last time going to one of the bishopric's house.  We had a lesson, which I had to give haha Then we all ate Hot Dogs, Root Beer Floats and S'mores.  As it was raining we noticed a.... DOUBLE RAINBOW! haha It was awesome!  It was gorgeous!  I loved it!  For all of you who haven't seen that music video it is pretty funny so I will post it!  I tried uploading a picture of my FHE Group but it wouldn't work so if I can get it I will show you our double rainbow.  :)

River Rafting

This weekend I was invited by 2 girls from my flag football team to go River Rafting. They are some of the sweetest girls I know! I love them!  When she invited me I was not a 100% sure if I was really going to go because of finals week and not to mention I do not have the best luck with rivers.
    Example 1: For one of my first young women's and young men's activity we went floating down the Prove River.  I was really excited as you can imagine.  We went down on the seven peaks water inner tubes.  About 15 minutes after we had been going we got to a deep part of the river and somehow my tube drifted over to the edge where a hug tree log was waiting for me.  My tube flipped out from under me and I was sucked under the log and stuck under there.  I was scared to say the least.  Luckily there was a very nice priest who helped me out.
   Example 2: Another ward activity.  We went down the colorado river which was so much fun!  The last rapid of the day one of my friends convinced we to get in a ducky with her.  I thought sure why not, I can handle that.  We came up and it flipped and I was gone, being pounded on all the rocks.  I felt like I was drowning hahaha.  Then I came up and had gashes on my legs.  As you can tell not the greatest experiences with rivers.
   I ended up going because it is really fun!  We started going and I was so nervous!!  It ended up being an excellent trip besides the fact that one girl almost drowned and another popped her shoulder out.  But they ended up being okay, which we were all grateful for!  The rapids her dad said were the biggest they have ever been and they were crazy fun!!  If you are ever up in Salmon Idaho go for a ride down the river.  

I felt like relating this to real life and how their are many rapids that we face in our future.  They make us nervous and you never know what to expect after each turn.  But with the gospel you can always have faith that everything is going to be okay.  You may fall out but someone will always pick you up and pull you back in the boat.  
      One of the most important things we learned on the trip was when going through a rapid no matter how big it was to always Keep Paddling.  

No matter what we go through in this life we need to Keep Paddling!  There is a calm river up ahead and if we can just keep paddling we will get through it.  We just need to listen to the guides (the holy ghost, Heavenly Father, and Christ)  and everything will turn out how it is supposed to.  Just listen and follow and you will receive what you need. :) Just a little spiritual insight for the day. 

                                 Lucky this did not happen to us...
                                      Although we did tip haha 


This is how you will feel once you have Conquered the rapids that are in your life!  SUCCESS! :)   Let me be the one to tell you it feels good! :) Keep up the Good Work! 

Sammy's

A couple of weeks ago my roomates and I went to Sammy's. Yes it is the same Sammy's in provo but 3X bigger and there is a concert hall where bands perform.  It is the HOT SPOT for a friday night.  The night we went a man by the name of Preston Pugmire was performing.  I am here to tell you HE IS AMAZING!!!!! He is what they call a Loopist.  For those of you who do not know what that is I will give it a shot at explaining.  It is where they record all their beats right in front of you by using a computer and some sort of machine that he uses his foot to play each beat back.  It is really entertaining to watch.  Anyway he is such a talented artist and I think he has an excellent voice.  He either is still going to BYU-I or is an Alumni.  He has performed all over the U.S. at different colleges.  I want to share his talent with you so I will post the link to his blog and you all should check him out!  http://www.prestonpugmire.com/ Plus you can download his songs for free on his site.  My favorite song of his besides them all is titled SOUNDTRACK.  I love it so much because of the story behind it.  It is the song he wrote to his wife and how he proposed.  It is so cute and they are such a cute couple! I hope you ENJOY his music as much as I DO!

Chemisty!

This week I had my second to last Chem 101 test!  I was nervous because Chem is not my best subject but I do think it is really interesting.  Sometimes it just doesn't click.  I am proud to say I got my highest test score out of the 3 other tests I have taken before!!! It is so nice to succeed in something that you do not always perform your best in.  Chemistry at the beginining of the semester was one of my favorite subjects and then I started getting confused but now we are right back on track again.  Anyway just wanted to share my excitment with you.  CHEMISTRY as my teacher Sister Lemon says, "Chemistry=Try."  I love her she is so willing to help you in anyway.  Plus it is my 7:45 class so she is peppy and keeps you interested and awake! :)  One of my favorite things I learned this semester is the picket fence trick with conversion factors!  In high school it seemed so difficult now it makes sense :)
Funniest thing from the semester has to be when my teacher shared a story of when she was dating her husband who was actually my SCI Foundations teacher haha.  When they were dating she made him pulled pork with BBQ sauce (she doesn't like BBQ sauce).  In the sauce she mixed Methylene, this chemical turns your urine blue.  HAHA she said it was hilarious to play a little trick on him.  From that point on I knew she would be one of my favorite teachers.  Also I respected chemistry more! Ps.  the chemical is clear so he couldn't tell or taste it in the sauce. haha

4th of July :)

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  I love how it is warm, family oriented, food, fireworks, music, races, parades etc.  It is a holiday that celebrates the beautiful country that we live in.  USA!  GOD BLESS AMERICA!  :)  The only bummer about this year was that I did not go home an spend it with my family.  They were in California so I stayed in the Burg and thought I was going to get studying done.  I got some finished but not as much as I wanted. which seems to always be the case.  Anyway we had a BBQ and then went to Idaho Falls to walk around and watch FIREWORKS!  haha Some of the girls and I from the ward went to go find a restroom and it was seriously like the whole town had shut down.  (well the part of town that we walked down)  We could not find a restroom.  So we went into a place called Gator something.  We hurried and kept walking only to find that on the other side of town was all these fast food places. haha But my favorite part of the day was I was able to try the corn from the Movie Nacho Libre!  :)  It was so good!  :)  They roast it and cover it in butter, mayo, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and chili pepper.  It sounds gross but it was the best corn I have ever had!  Try it sometime I promise it won't disappoint!

6 WEEKS!!!!

There are only 6 WEEKS until Elder Michael David Garry gets home!!! I feel as though 2 years has flown by so fast!  The first couple of months after he left felt like he was going to be gone forever but now we are so close!  My parents are going to pick him up and then all of the kids are going to meet him at the airport!  Words cannot describe how excited I am to see Elder Garry! :)  He is such a wonderful missionary and his japanese is amazingly good. haha Pictures will be posted when he gets home! :)

                                                  Last picture at the temple together!
                                                            walking to the MTC!

                                                                       Love Him! :)

Almost summer!

We went surfing last summer!  SO FUN! 

I am so excited for summer!  Don't get me wrong I like school it just after being in it for a year straight I am ready to work and have a break.  Sad news is my family went to Laguna Beach without me this year. :(  It is crazy to think that Michael and I are both not their.  Our family is growing so fast and soon Mama and Daddy are going to be empty nesters!   We have gone to California every year for 13 years and this is the first time I will ever miss it.  I just wanted to post some pictures of how beautiful it is and hope my family has such a wonderful time!

                                                                       So Pretty!
                                         We can even see our hotel from here, well sorta :)

                                              This is our beautiful hotel!  With the private beach!

JERUSALEM

I just recently decided that I am applying for the Jerusalem program for winter of 2012!!! One of my best friends Erica is there right now and is loving it.  My parents and I felt it was right that I should go and so I am doing it.  I am just finishing up my application and will send it in to BYU at the end of July so wish me Luck! :)

                                              This is a picture of the center, isn't it beautiful!

Roommates :)

This semester I was blessed with such amazing roommates it is a little ridiculous how great they are.  Their names are Jessica, Alyssa, Elisabeth, and Mckenna.  They are some of the cutest girls I know.  Even though we each go through our ups and down I know they would always help me if I ever needed anything.  I owe them so much for how great of a semester they have made it for me.  Here are some fun things we have done together!  Enjoy! :)

                                        Jessica's 20th birthday dinner at olive garden!  YUM! :)

And of course I owe a lot to my roommate and one of my best friends Mckenna Jean Burdge.  I don't know if I would have been able to make it without her.  But oh have we had some fun times!

                                                    My first BLACK and Yellow dance party!

Mckenna introduced me to the Cheesecake Factory and to the delicious Red Velvet Cheesecake. Which I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing ;) If you have never tried it I promise it will not disappoint.

And of course last but not least one of our favorite places to eat. The Teriyaki Place.  6 bucks for two people not but and not to mention outstandingly good!  This is a must place if you are ever in Rexburg. :) 

Anyway I just wanted to say I love my roommates!  You all are amazing thank you for everything you do! :)

ONE MONTH LEFT! :)

2 days ago on June 23rd we hit our 1 month left in the semester.  CRAZY!!!! I can't believe I will have been in college for a complete year!   3 semesters baby!  For those of you who don't know I attend BYU–Idaho.  I absolutely LOVE it up here!  The spirit is so strong and the professors are amazing!  Plus the social life isn't that bad ;)  It is  bitter sweet feeling as I love it up here and school work but I am excited for summer.  Life is an adventure and it has sure been working out great for me so far!  If you are ever in Rexburg, Idaho look me up and I will give you a tour of this marvelous town.

I LOVE BYU–I! :) 

One of my favorite quotes!

So if you are really good friends with me you know that I ABSOLUTELY love quotes!  To me they have so much meaning in my life.  This is one my friend Kaylee showed me and now it is my favorite.  It was said by one of my heros Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley.  

Here it is I hope you enjoy it:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." 

Weddings!

My roommates and I were talking about weddings as most of them are going to get engaged soon.  We were talking about rings, receptions, temples, dresses, etc.  It made me think of how much I love weddings!  It is so exciting to see people who seem so happy getting married for eternity.  That is such an IMPORTANT decision.  One thing I was thinking about was how we let all the fun stuff like rings and receptions etc, get in the way.  Which causes us to miss the most exciting thing and such an important stepping stone in our lives.  We ruin it by if it rains or our hair doesn't look as we planned.  We miss that we are getting sealed to the man of our dreams for time and all eternity.  It's the start of each of our Happily Ever Afters.  So I wanted to post a picture of one of my 4 of my favorite temples that have special meaning to me. 

This Temple of course holds a special place in my heart because I live literally two minutes away walking.  Not only that but this is where I did my first baptism's for the dead.  I have seen them remodel it and make the grounds look incredible.  I remember being in elementary school and getting out of class to see them place the angel moroni on it.  This Provo Temple is beautiful and makes our block look so unique. 

Salt Lake Temple.  I feel like everybody wants to get married here.  But who could blame them it looks like a castle!  I was just up there last weekend and I couldn't stop starring, thinking to myself how beautiful it is.  It amazes me how they put so much art work and built it without the tools which we have today.  

Rexburg Temple.  I LOVE THIS TEMPLE.  At the beginning of my second semester up here at 

BYU–I our bishopric challenged us to go to the temple once a week.  I took that challenge and cannot even to describe how my love and testimony for the temple has grown.  It truly is a place of peace and happiness.  Plus in the middle of Rexburg right across from a grassy field of nothing.  There is nothing more beautiful to look at. 

The last one is the Mesa, Arizona Temple.  One fun fact before I tell you why I love it so much.  This temple has two others that look like it one in Canada which I have been to, and the other in Hawaii.  My cousins grandpa is the Mission president of this temple and over the spring break my family and I were able to go and do baptisms together.  We spent time with the mission presidents and it was such a unique experience.  Also on that same trip I had the opportunity of seeing the HUGE easter pageant that they hold ever year. It was so fun and amazing!!  The acting was excellent and truly felt the spirit there.  It was such a wonderful experience being able to see how Christ's life played out and to know that he does live.  

BIO 265 LAB EXAMS!!

Today I am taking my first Anatomy and Physiology 265 lab exam.  It is on the heart, eye, ear, and blood vessels.  Yesterday my lab partners and I studied forever so we are PRAYING we do really well.  Can I just say that the body is SO AMAZING!!!  I LOVE IT!!! 

The beginning of my blogging career... :)

For my english class we need to do a writing project this was one of the options, so I figured why not try it out. Hopefully it goes over well! :)