And so it begins

Here is Megan's first day picture, she had to leave earlier than all of the rest of us.



Those of us who had classes at 9 all caught the bus together at 8:10. I made sure to get the "First day of school at the bus stop for the first time" picture. A few people laughed, but I was so happy. As you can tell it was windy, but you cannot tell that it was COLD! None of us were expecting temperatures to be in the 50s and it was too late to go back when we got there.



We had a lot of fun goofing off during dinner. Let me just say that it is so hard to catch all of us on camera with the cups around our mouths. Because if one person made a sound or started to crack up all of us would and then we would drop our cups and miss the picture. But it was very entertaining and fun!





Oh yeah, This is Brooke, my other roommate. She is going to be majoring in Chemical Engineering so she has to have these awesome "Chem goggles that leave rims around your eyes".



FHE (Family Home evening) is a on every Monday nights for those of you that don't know, and is usually a time when families get together for a lesson, activity, and treats. Now that we are all way from home we have a new family. My roommates and I are in FHE group 13 and have some fun guys in our group. For this FHE the whole ward (90 something of us from our apartment complex who will be attending church at the same time) got together for got to know you games, fun little competitions, and... yep! Treats. For this particular game each of us from our FHE groups paired up and had to successfully carry a paper plate together across the small area. The trick was that we had to use the body part that was written on the plate to carry it. Chelsea and Mich got the easy one, elbow.



Megan and Rob had to carry their plate between their heads.



Here is Brooke and her partner Jon. They had to carry the plate between their knees.



My partner Kevin, from Canada, and I had to carry the plate between our backs. Right before it was time for us to go he announced that he was going to carry me on his back. And he did! as I was kicking my feet trying to run by. I was literally "kicking and screaming" like in that soccer movie.

Sunday Dinner #1

So it started out that my roommates and I were going to make Fajitas for dinner tonight. Chelsea had found a frozen Fajita mix at our new favorite grocery store. But when we got home from church (church was 2-5, so starts late, but gets out in time for dinner.) we found our chicken to be frozen solid. We figured we could just plop it into the microwave and auto defrost it, but the chicken would not fit.



Chelsea with the "saw" trying to make it so the chicken and vegetable mix could fit into the microwave.



Our lovely Fajita mix finally in a bowl in the microwave ready to be thawed.



Megan (the healthy eater) cutting up some Zucchini to boil and eat as a side.

All was looking like it might work and then we got a phone call from a boy we met the other night playing volleyball. Ryan, the boy, asked us if we wanted to come over for dinner. We could not pass up a free meal! So we walked to his building and he made us Paninis FROM SCRATCH!!!They tasted pretty amazing.



Ps I tried to get him actually looking at the camera, but he said it was too hard to cut while looking away.


Once again Brooke was not in the picture, but don't worry I will get her in there some time!
We decided that we would make pizza from scratch for them when we have our movie night on Friday night.

Tomorrow is the first day of school and the first time I will ride the bus. I am pretty excited and nervous all that the same time.

Make shift

Yesterday Chelsea and I made dinner together but couldn't find a lid for the pot. Chelsea made a make shift lid with a pan then said, "Yeah we are in college." It has been so fun meeting new people and running around campus. There has been so much to do and so many fun free stuff to get. Last night a whole bunch of people from our apartment building got together for the biggest game of Sardines that I have ever played. It was surprisingly hard to find people even after setting boundaries, that to me seemed too small. After Sardines, a few of the people left over played a fun game of sand volleyball. I have to admit it is a whole lot easier to play when there aren't twelve or more people on each side like there were the night before. I am not sure how school is going to work because I have gotten used to staying out late and hanging out having fun. I have yet to ride the bus and will probably do that sometime today. I have a BBQ at noon to meet up with a few people from my building that I will be going to church with and then a dance for ALL the Freshmen later tonight so I guess I will meet a few more people tonight.

Pink and Brown/My new room

Two of my roommates, Megan and Chelsea, Brooke was out at the time of our first picture. (Don't worry more about them will come, we are going to write letters to each other about ourselves then share them over dinner on Sunday.) It has been so interesting and nice how well we have all got along. We all agree it feels like we have known each other for a long time, when really we only met today. We have had so many adventures and laughs already. For example, today after the BBQ, I tried to take them on a shortcut that I had found a few days ago. We found out, however, that there was not a crosswalk until way further up the road. We had been told earlier that J-walking is not acceptable so we all decided that walking up to the light would be the better decision. Lets just say that it was a lot further than we thought... and when we found that we were going to have to back-track to the entrance of the apartment I suggested jumping the four foot something fence that surrounds the complex. Not remembering the poster I put in my mouth to free my hands just seconds before I jumped at the brick wall and hit the paper on the top and cut the sides of my mouth. All I could do was laugh. I am such blonde.



My dresser complete with a picture of my mom (you cannot see her totally awesome bottle cap glasses.) and I when I was a baby.



My desk which took me a long time to motivate myself to organize. It looks pretty nice now, but throughout the semester I am sure it will get quite cluttered, so remember what it did look like.



This comforter was hand stitched by my grandma Brown, yesterday! We have been searching and searching for a duvet cover that was brown and pink. Finally I found some material that I couldn't pass up and she helped me put one together within a few hours.



Really she did it all I just sowed on three buttons.

I am in

Today was a day of firsts for me. I was so glad to have kamber here to inspire me to get going and meet my roommates. Megan is my roommate and two other girls chealse and brooke are my suitmates.

For REAL

My sister Kamber is so amazing! She knew that yesterday would be a hard day for me because my family was leaving to go back home and I wasn't going with them. So she planned an activity to destract me and save me many tears. She planned a blind double date for me and we went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game. A first for me!



I learned a lot from this first game. The players always walk out holding some kids hand. There is a group of people that play percussion instruments and dance around the whole game! (you just have to tune it out.) At half time there is a mascot show and BYU always wins! You are supposed to yell "You suck" when the goal keeper of the other team kicks a goal kick. (I don't think I will ever yell that) Some times there are fights on the field! (that was quite exciting) Real gets to use silver soccer balls because they were the champions last year. I need to bring some kind of paper to throw on the field when Real scores or to tear up and throw at the end of a winning game. It was a great first experience, especially since they won the game. It makes me wish I could go out there and play a game myself.

What Cowboys do

We visited my cousins who live on a farm on Tuesday. It was funny to watch all of us city kids try to fit in on the farm.



Kelcey was by far the best cowgirl because she knew that they wear plaid shirts, boots, and ride horses.



Cowboys and cowgirls like to make "dog salad" inside their hats.



Cowgirls like to show off their boots, but they don't smile for the camera.


They like to wear plaid shorts and rubber boots while riding their scooters inside the barn.



They have this pose that they like to make while feeding the horses that says, "I am a tough cowboy".



Cowgirls like to wear tie-dye shirts, white shorts, and rubber boots while they move the hay.



After a long day of working on a farm, cowboys like to dress up like Droids and play Starwars.

Am I ready?

I went to the BYU campus for the second time today with my dad. The first time, Monday, I went on a tour with my mom and dad. I was so surprised and frightened by the size of the campus. I found out that I will have access to three Olympic size pools, a gym as well as a women's only gym, 9 or so racquetball courts, indoor fields, tennis courts, a library that is the length of three football fields and has two floors under ground, a bowling ally, computer labs, and so much more it is so big!



Today was less frightening and actually quite nice. I got my school id, printed off my schedule and book list, got a bank account (which was way more complex than I expected), got a BYU football t-shirt, bought my books, ate in the food court, and found where all my classes are going to be. It got pretty confusing so I am glad my dad was the one looking at the map and leading the way. I am going to have more time to visit the campus before school starts on the 30th so hopefully I won't be one of those freshman that has a map in one hand and a schedule in the other.

Grandpa's Gym

After being cooped up in a car for a day the kids needed a some room to let out some energy. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa Stevenson has a gym in his patio.

Ele-fun

We made it to Salt Lake City, Utah in record time, 20 hours! We ended up leaving around 11 Saturday night and he drove straight through the night and through Sunday as well. He was trying to make it to a Brown family get together and he did it. Right as we got to my great aunt Katherine's house my grandma Brown swept me away to introduce me to second cousins that around my age and might become some friends while I am here. I was surprised by how many great aunts and uncles that I have never seen, some of whom seemed to know me.

We spent the night at my the grandma and grandpa Brown's little town house. They have recently been to India on a church mission trip and have brought a few things back home with them. Elephants! Handcrafted elephants!







It was nice to stay with them for the night, kind of like old times when they lived in Tulsa Oklahoma where we could visit every other weekend. I miss those days of sleeping in the huge bed that used to be my aunt Viv's, stuffing into the hammock in the backyard like peas in a pod, taking bathes in the pink jet tub, and going exploring in the forest behind their backyard. I loved that big house that was like a second home to me. I will never forget the day that we buried Kennel their golden retriever or the day that we drove away for the last time. It's hard to move on, I learned it then, but it is a way of life and the best is yet to come!

Saying goodbyes

Saying good bye is one of the hardest things to do. I wish I could have gotten more pictures, but I wasn't too good about carrying my camera around. I did get a few though.



Even though I had spent most of the weekend with my close friends, I still felt like I needed more time. So when I found out my family and I would not be leaving til later in the night I called up three of my closest friends and we met up at a near by park. I tried to get a really good one of all our shadows, but this was the best I could get.



I was able to say a few last goodbyes before leaving and managed to snap a picture with some of them. This lady, Melissa Nothum, is one of those people that I feel so lucky to know.



These are Melissa's adorable girls Ashely and Lilly (They were our photographers).



Jennifer Jones another wonderful woman. She has three way cute and active little children. She has been a youth leader for me many different times and is now the stake Young Woman's President. She is so dedicated to her family, friends, and church.

I wish I could have gotten a few more pictures with people. I was going to get one with Mrs. Hayley Fraser, my teacher who introduced me to blogging, but she was at the pool when I met up to say my last goodbye. I also wanted to drive down to Harrison, AR to say a goodbye Ipo Anderson, but I didn't time it right and it didn't work out, but I did get to have a wonderful conversation on the phone with her. She gave me advice that was given to her when she moved away from home, "You will miss them more than they will miss you." This really helped me as I said my goodbyes.

I am going to miss these and many other people who have become my friends. It's hard to believe that I am starting a new life. But I am told everyone has to do it and that I will enjoy it. So I am going to try to enjoy everyday that I have and live life to it's fullest.

Overnighter

Night full of volleyball, soccer, boardgames, music, stargazing, food, friends and fun.



We all went for a swim around 9... I think it was planned to be later so that we could not see the water. It was a pond on a farm with cows... I jumped in once and got right back out. Everyone else had so much fun jumping in and splashing each other.



I on the other hand had fun after the swim playing keep away with a soccer ball, stargazing on the trampoline, and talking all night with one of my best friends Courtney. We are going to have to do this again when I come back home.

City Museum/theme park

Last weekend my family and I went up to St. Louis with my church youth group. Halfway through the day we went separate ways. I think the youth group went home while my family and I stayed there and went to a museum. It is called the City Museum, so we thought it would be boring (when I say we I mean the younger kids.. I like looking at history and old stuff.) til we heard there was a SEVEN STORY SLIDE! And boy was this place crazy!





The skate park area was our favorite. We would run up the ramps that were made for skateboarding then slide down. Calvin is on a 10 or 11 foot one(first photo).



Outside there is a whole HUGE playground. I am not sure how high it went but... it was high! I am not sure the pictures do it justice. I just know I was really high and could not stop shaking. But common, how safe can you feel when you are climbing through small tunnel like things made of rebarb. The whole place was made out of recycled things.. even the decorations inside! (pictures further down)



I was surprised by my little sister Klarie, who is only 5, but yet climbed all the way to the top. (That is her finger pointing in the picture.) She went higher than me, proving that she is a monkey.





Everywhere that we went we found little hiding places or secret passage ways. (there were holes in the wall that you could go through and find your way through the maze to a whole new area.







When we went to the cave part.. YEAH A CAVE! we found this sign. TEN STORY SLIDE!!! My knees started to tremble and I was feeling quite sick, but we all made the trek up the ten flights of stairs. Then waited in line so one by one we could all go down. This was so scary!



Looking down I couldn't even see the ground. This picture was after so it was looking up... I don't think you can see the top.







Pretty amazing if you ask me! There was a whole tree house thing on the first floor! We ended up playing a game of tag and got pretty bruised up from all the running, crawling, and skooting around. (5 on one knee, 4 on the other for me)





Amazing decorations SO MUCH FUN!