SPECIAL OLYMPICS!!

The Special Olympics are at BYU. How cool is that?! I have always heard such great things about this program and this weekend it is here.

One of the sweet girls I worked with back in San Marcos called me a few months ago to tell me she was participating in the Special Olympics down in San Diego. She was going to be playing basketball and I was so so proud of her. I had never actually seen the Special Olympics and it was definitely something I always wanted to experience.

So today provided the perfect opportunity. I went over for just about an hour and cheered, smiled, and gave hugs. What I had studied in my adaptive physical education class was being used all around me. My friends from Timpanogos High School were there. They were out playing softball and it was so great to see them playing team sports and actually enjoying themselves. I saw one of my favorite students out there with his hat on sideways and a finger in his mouth. He is the cutest kid ever and when he runs it looks like he just might fall forward. I was really only in this class maybe once a week so I didn't expect him to recognize me but when he saw me he came running - one of the greatest hugs of my life.

Times like this remind me that I am going to have the most rewarding job. I am amazed at the talent and skill of these students and even more amazed at the love that they give to everyone around them. They have so much to teach me and I can't wait to learn!

Ramblings on life and the last year

I have been thinking a lot lately just about life in general. It flies by so fast and there is so much that I have not taken time to appreciate until it's too late. I started this blog approximately a year ago, while I was studying in Mexico. I cannot believe that it has been a year. It is an experience I think about all of the time, especially since it is summer again. Provo is fun in the summer, but with work and school it is nothing like my previous summers.
Basically, the more that I have thought about Mexico and all of the things I have done since then, I am amazed at all that has happened in a year. I have had three of my very best friends get married. I started the special ed program only in September and now I just have an internship left. I got an internship that I am so excited about - a huge and exciting commitment for the next year of my life. I have had three jobs - lifeguarding, para at Dan Peterson, and secretary in the SAB - all of which I have loved. I have moved into a new and amazing ward. I have made so many new friends both in my program and those in my ward. I could keep going from roadtrips home to football to basketball to near death experiences in Vegas.
I am just so grateful for life. For the experiences I have gone through and for all the little things that have become a part of my life.
Recently, I was put in a hard spot and my decision would greatly change a good friend's life and I hope that it will change it for the better. I have been thinking about it all day. I wish I had the words to really describe how I feel. We all get off track. We all lose a little but that does not mean we can't start winning again. I know that we can choose to be optimistic and rise to each challenge that we are faced with or we can just let life happen to us. Life is not going to just happen to me. Look at what I have done in the last year! I might not know what is in my future, but I do know that I will take it and run with it no matter how hard and I will make it into something more.

te amo mucho

I love my mom.

I was her first baby, I am still her baby, and I will always be her baby. She loves me more than I know I can understand. She is my best friend. She hears it first. I call her every morning as I walk to class or work. She gives me the counsel that only a mom can give.

You know, most kids go off to school and hear from their parents once in awhile. I call my mom every single day. If she doesn't hear from me, I will get the midnight text asking if I was alright, if I was mad at her, or how my day was. She knows exactly what is happening in my life and knows just by my voice if I am happy, sad, stressed, upset, you name it, she knows. Growing up has made our relationship only stronger. Moving out and leaving my mom was the end of the world for me. I remember crying on the phone to her for the first weeks at school. I loved BYU but I got really home sick. I can still remember sitting in the hallway that connected the two sides of the hall and just crying on the phone.

When I went to Mexico, the limited connection I had to my parents was terrible. It was almost like being on a mission. I called her from Mexico for Mother's Day last year. I still remember that too. My journal says, "The best part of of the day was getting to call home. What a mother's day. To hear my mom's voice after 2 weeks of not hearing it!"

The pictures we take together are always the same. I am always trying to get as close to her as I can. I love you mom. You have shaped me in every way possible. The support you give me is more than anything. I know that even when life is getting me down, you will make it better. You have taught me to live life day by day and it has made all of the difference. Thank you for everything you have taught me, all that you have given me, and the love that you constantly show me. Te amo mucho - un monton. :) muchos besos y abrazos.

VOLLEYBALL!

I have the sweetest job. That is all I really have to say.

BYU has been hosting the Men's Volleyball NCAA Championships and I was recruited to man the snack table. That's right, as the boys finish their practice they walk by my table, we chit chat a little, and then the next team practices. The boys will come in and be like, "Ohh Yayy. Vitamin water girl is here!" The tournament started with USC, Penn Sate, UC Irvine, and Ohio State. Last night the two California teams won and now, play each other tomorrow and I even got tickets for the championship game! Gosh, I just can't even control how happy this all makes me. At first, it was like eh, BYU isn't playing and I just didn't really care but as I started watching practices and getting to semi-know the teams I decided I needed to see the game.

How can you not love volleyball?

sunny monday

Kelly got married in March. Ever since then she has made a point to stay my best friend. I still remember crying the day she asked me to be her brides maid and then again as Jason drove away her away after their reception. She made me cry again today.

I was at work when I got a text asking what my address was. Kelly is full of surprises so I gave it to her, thinking I had a letter coming in the mail. We continued to talk and how I love talking to her. She is interested in me and really cares. The conversation alone was enough to make my day the greatest Monday it could be...then I come home. I walk upstairs and there I have a bouquet of the most beautiful yellow roses I have ever seen. I thought maybe Aubrey got flowers until I saw the note. They were from Kelly. I couldn't help but cry...gosh I am getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Kelly, I love you. Thanks for always being there. You always know when I need you and once again, I needed you today.