ITS FINALLY SPRING! April 6-12

On Monday for FHE we played this game called "he said, she said". It was very entertaining! You write one part of a story and then pass it to the person next to you. We had some very interesting stories come from this... After FHE Savannah, Genny and I went on a night run! It was super pretty outside and a good break!

On Tuesday I went to my first two classes and then went to Monticello with my America and the Enlightenment class. It was super fun and the perfect weather! Nicole and I hung out and it was fun to just sit and talk to each other on the bus ride. We did the slave tour and the house tour. Our house guide was this cute lady who thought our group was the funniest group. She loved how involved we were because we were genuinely interested and kept asking questions. I think my favorite moment is when she was showing us these doors that Thomas Jefferson invented that when you pulled one of the doors the other one closed. We kept asking if they worked the other way. Could you push it open and have the other door push open. She wasn't really answering our question so Nicole grabbed the door handle and the doors banged together and caused this super loud echo through the house! We all freaked out because it sounded like she broke the doors! It was super funny! We got back in the middle of dinner so we decided that we would just go pick up Chinese at a local Chinese restaurant. I came up with the idea that a picnic would be fun, so we brought it back to school and ate it on one of the picnic tables. After we went to the two of the senior theatre showcases. It was fun!

On Wednesday our weather couldn't decide what it wanted. I woke up and it was raining, then after institute it was super foggy, and then it got semi warm. I tried to work on my philosophy paper for three hours! Lauren and I signed up for the writing tutor and then sat in what we called the proposal point.  I finally went back up to the room and got ready for work. At 5 there was a torrential down pour. I came into dinner and I was dripping! I looked like I had stepped right out of the shower. I went to go get a plate and when I reached down, a flood fell from my body. I worked a double shift and then came back home.

Thursday I knew I had to buckle down and write my essay. After lunch I went to the library and wrote my philosophy essay! It took another three hours but I did it! I printed it off and went to dinner. I hurry and ate and then Nicole and I went back to the library to work on a different essay. At 7 I went to the writing tutor and then booked it over to watch the other two senior theatre showcases. My brain was soo fried!

Friday after Forum I had to take Savannah to a bank in Lexington to pull out money. We got back and ordered sandwiches at Jonzzeys. Mine was super good! Savannah had to go to class so I went in and finished eating in the dinning hall by Stephanie who was swiping cards. We ended up hanging out the next 4 hours with one tiny break while she went and did room checks and I practiced choir songs. We went on a walk and hung out in each others rooms and then went to dinner. After dinner I had a quick break and then went to the flute concert to support Savannah and it was the last one because Professor Whitehead is leaving after next year. Her birthday is also on Tuesday so we had a big finale birthday party. They had cake and made a thank you video. It was awesome! What other school do you have a big birthday party after a concert!

Saturday was a bit crazy. I got ready and then went to go pick up Alex and Erika who were at a service project. I picked them up and we went and got lunch at cook out. We then drove to the baseball game where Alex was singing the national anthem. We felt very American eating hot dogs at a baseball game. I got back and ended up having a two hour philosophical discussion with Anna. Then I worked on my gospel doctrine lesson. I went to dinner and then ended up staying down here because the Fading Point concert was happening shortly. I did take Anna's and Erika's keys to go fetch sweatshirts and blankets because of course the day we have something outside is the one cold day! The concert was really good and then they played the third Hobbit outside on the big blow up screen!

Sunday we had a funny lunch with Anna and Jared. I then taught my lesson which I think went pretty well. Sam also taught Relief Society! So that was fun. After church I worked on some stuff and then went to dinner. After dinner we went on a walk and then I FaceTimed by family. At 9 we went to hymns on a hill and we had a ton of people there, it was awesome! After we always go and get candy from Lanie's candy drawer. That turned into "Story Time With Lanie!" It was super funny! I finally got back in my room at almost 11. I was working on an essay when Alley FaceTimed telling me she was actually buying a ticket to be here on my birthday and drive home with me! AHHHHHHH!!!!! I am sooooo excited!!!!!!

General Conference! March 30-April 5

On Monday I was headed down to breakfast with Lauren and we saw a car that had been pranked! It was pretty funny. After classes it was so nice outside that we sat at one of the picnic tables on campus. The problem was that we needed to use our computers, so we decided to crawl underneath the table and be in the shade! We were having a great time and then the President of the University walked by. He thought we were pretty funny. Lauren and I then headed back up to the Lofts but to get back up you have to go through where they have been starting on building the new dorms. They had completely blocked off the path so we had to do some fancy navigating to get home. FHE was a bit crazy. We chicken bowled. We first had root-beer floats. We drank the root-beer out of the bottles so that they could be the pins. We then went outside and set it all up. Basically its really hard to aim a chicken! After we headed to Walmart because Alex needed something for a class. We saw the cutest sheep and I should have just bought it! Hint: I would love that stuffed animal for my birthday ;)

Tuesday I had my work meeting and then I worked a double shift. When I was done I got a text from Savannah saying that there was a "party" in Daphne's room. I showed up and they were ordering pizza. It was past 11! Oh the college life. So I went and took a shower which was awful because it was cold! I have never had this problem and I was not mentally prepared for it. I was quick and then brought bread and nutella over to have before the pizza.

Wednesday I worked another double shift at work. It was really long but I love the people I work with!!

Thursday night I went to the schools opera. It was really good! I am always amazed at the talent that we have here. They did two opera sketches. One was funny and the other one sad but at the same time I thought it was a very perfect and fitting ending.

Friday our campus looked like spring! Blossoms were starting to appear! Forum was really cool. We had different professors who were from different religions read something about Easter. It was our Good Friday Forum. There was a musical number written and directed by a senior at our school. It was really amazing! We hung out outside for awhile and I turned in my RA application!! YAY! I then went in and talked to Stephanie who was swiping cards in the dinning hall. Lauren and Rebecca and I took a quick trip to Lexington and got ice cream from this place called Sweet Things. When we got back we just hung out and then Lauren and I went on a walk. Then I went to dinner and then I FaceTimed Maddie for a super long time! At 9:30 Savannah and I left for DC! Of course it had to be pouring rain, because every time accept for once its snowed or rained!

Saturday we were so excited for conference! It was truly amazing! We were all so exhausted that we watched both sessions and then just hung out. The guys went to Priesthood and Requel went to the store, so Davis, Savannah, Hannah, Lucy and I finished watching this TV special about these two brothers and then watched the end of the Emma Smith movie.
This is a picture of a whole bunch of guys from my school at Cook Out after Priesthood session that one of them put on Facebook. I thought it was funny!

Sunday we woke up early and headed into the Tidal Basin. I really wanted some cherry blossoms to be out... but no such luck! It was a beautiful day though so it was fun to walk around for Easter morning! Conference again was incredible! I loved all the talks centered on family, eternal perspective, and enduring to the end. They were great! We ate a yummy meal between sessions and then after the second session Savannah and I headed out. We got back at a pretty decent time but we missed Hymns on a Hill by 20 minutes! We were both pretty sad! Haha

 I had never been to this memorial, so it was fun to stop by!

 Oh what do we do with this kid?

 Here is the Easter basket that the bunny brought us... Davis ate our chocolate bunny along with like three others an hour later.

The Trials Do Come March 23-29

Its been a hard week for everyone.

Monday I had cake! It was definitely a highlight! I had already gone in the dinning hall for lunch and had headed to the bookstore. Genny arrived and mentioned they had cake. So obviously I ran over to the dinning hall and rushed in for a piece of cake! I came back up to my room and after a little while I just wanted to sit outside in the sun. So I grabbed my assignment and the letters I needed to mail and went back down. I luckily found Savannah sitting out there doing homework. At one point my friend started to work the dinning hall and I really wanted more cake. So I headed back on into the dinning hall and got another piece of german chocolate cake. I did make my friend share it though! For FHE we had a camp fire over at the Carriage town houses where a lot of students live. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. It was kind of windy and so the smoke from the fire was in all of our faces and we reeked of camp fire all night, but it was the first roasted marshmallows of the year! After FHE Ewa and I met a group of people in the institute building to work on a group debate we had the next day. It went pretty well but I had been having really bad allergies all day and so Ewa and I took an emergency trip to Walmart.

 These were our notes for the debate.

Tuesday was also another pretty day. Our group debate went pretty well. She said we missed some certain points but I felt like we beat the team going against us. After classes I went to lunch and then back up to my room. After a few hours I headed down for my Review staff meeting and when I got there it turns out it was canceled. I then had an hour to waste so I went in and talked to John John who was swiping cards. At 5 I had my work meeting and worked the first shift. After that I headed back home and met with Savannah. Tuesdays are the day we make sure to go for a run. Daphne came with us and we just did a couple random loops around campus because the sun had gone down but it was still really warm. It was beautiful and I actually liked running right on campus even though we kept running into cute guys... hopefully they think i'm awesome because I "exercise".

Wednesday was a pretty normal day until work. Ewa and I had a meeting for the open house so we came to work a half hour late. We got up there and everyone was just sitting around and talking. I asked my friend what was going on and they were waiting for our boss to figure out how to connect to the operator so we could try and find numbers for past donors that we couldn't get a hold of. Finally we were able to start calling and it was quite funny because everyone was yelling into there phones. "ENGLISH! VIRGINIA!" and so on. It was hilarious but after ten minutes we realized that we were being charged for the calls! We quickly hung up the phones and busted up laughing. WE then sat around until they figured out how to do the same thing online but without the charge. For the second shift we only had four people working. It was fun to take a break from actually calling because it was a little lower key and we could just blast the music and talk while still working.

Thursday was where the rough week really started to hit. After classes I went to the library to take a microeconomics test which was the hardest thing ever! I was sitting here when my friend Miranda appeared! She was here last semester and is now about to leave on a mission. She was visiting with her brother for the open house! I was so happy and we were freaking out and the librarian had to come tell us to be quiet... this is not the first time this semester. After that Savannah, Anna and I went for a run. It felt so good. I just kept going! Before we knew it we had ran two miles!! It was awesome! I came back and took a shower then I went to dinner. I worked the second shift and again it was crazy! It was super hot so we propped open the massive window that we have. All the sudden we heard an alarm going off outside. Steve stuck his head out the window and figured out that it was coming from the actual building but nothing inside was going off. We continued to call while he went down to figure out what it was. He had texted the other team leader saying that underneath the alarm it said to call 911. All of the sudden the actual fire alarm in the hall went off for literally two seconds. Chelsea told us to grab all of our stuff and walk down stairs. OPSS was there and they didn't know what was going on. They told us to evacuate the building so we headed outside and over to chandler in the pouring rain. Thats when the "fire truck" appeared. It was literally a truck with lights! It was so funny! They told us to just go home because it was crazy. Nicole, Brendan and I ended up talking in the rain for almost an hour. It was awesome. Then there was a misunderstanding with some people and that put me in a really bad mood. I had just had it and that resulted in a vent with Lauren and Savannah in the Lofts hallway for a really long time.

Friday I woke up and was still in this frustrated mood. Elizabeth and I went to breakfast and then to Microeconomics. That class is soooo frustrating! I had philosophy and then forum where we had a judge from DC come and talk. After that I went to the library and took a microeconomics test which was the hardest thing ever! I then went home to call Alley. I then changed and went on a frustration run. I just went by myself for about an hour and it was good. It is a lot harder to run by yourself though! I took a shower and got ready again and then Anna and I went to dinner. We met Savannah, John John and Alex who were already sitting at a table eating. After most people had left I sat and made the Provost and his wife come and sit by me. I have a class with Sister Sowell and she is amazing! I love talking to them! After that Genny and I went and saved seats for the shenanigans show. How they are so good at improve still amazes me! It was hilarious as always!

Saturday was the open house so naturally it was freezing! We have yet to have a warm open house since i've been here. I had two people in my group and one had been here for a few days and the other family knew the campus so I didn't have to do anything after lunch. So I came back up to the lofts and was suppose to do homework when Daphne knocked on the door. She asked if I wanted to go support Lanie at her softball game. It was freezing but off we went to the game. I was so cold. You know how some people go crazy when they are tired? Ya we discovered that the same thing happens to me when I get cold! Daphne was just laughing at me. Anna's parents were in town and they offered to take us to dinner. So Anna, Rebecca and I went to Lexington with them to dinner. We ate at this pub place called The Palms and it was amazing! I loved it! We then hurried back and I went to go help set up for the women's broadcast. It was incredible! I loved all the talks and it was exactly what I needed hear! This church is awesome! Ewa had sent me a text during the broadcast (she was at opera rehearsal) saying that she was starving! So I took her and daphne to Walmart and Cook Out. We ended up having a spiritual conversation for almost two hours.
People arriving at the Open House

 This is how we were trying to keep warm!

Sunday church was great. I loved testimony and everyone mentioned trials and how its been hard the last few weeks. I'm not entirely sure why that is. I think we are all kind of stressed and there is a lot going on everyday. I really felt the spirit. The rest of church went well. After Savannah and I went on a walk around campus and then came to Dinner. Dinner on fast sunday's are hilarious because everyone is there right when it opens and we all eat a ton! After dinner came back to talk to family then I went to Hymns on a Hill. It was cold and pollen stuff kept floating down but it was awesome! After we ended up going and talking in the hallway like always. At midnight I started my homework and finally went to bed.

I can't explain why this week was difficult. But one thing I loved from the women's broadcast was when someone said, "It's our purpose in life to be tried, tested and stressed." We chose to come down knowing full well we would be tried, tested and stressed. We just have to remember to be grateful and find the good in everyday. Im grateful for this amazing school and the people that make me laugh continuously! I can't imagine where i'd be or what i'd be doing if I wasn't experiencing and meeting everyone here at Southern Virginia University.