Blind Date

About a week ago Mom called me telling me that she was going to set me up on a blind date. I was not too on board with the idea, especially because Mom would not even tell me the guys name! My thoughts were, "My mother is setting me up on a blind date, I think that is a sign of an ultimate low!" I pestered, begged and pleaded her to give me at least the guys name. Her argument was that I would end up looking him up on Facebook and then possibly not want to go, I admit she knows me well and this argument was quite accurate. I kept asking and asking but she would not budge. The only information that I knew was that he is from Southern California, goes to BYU and is an Accounting major. This sounds pretty typical to the McKell family.

Mom did the conversing with this mystery guy and then updated me and told me that he would pick me up at 8:00 on Thursday night and was going to take me to dinner.  She said he will pick you up at 8:00, take you wherever you want to go for dinner and don't worry about money, go wherever you want. I said, "Wait a second, Mom, are you paying for this date?!" That would be another ultimate low for me, my Mom paying for my blind date. She said that she for sure wasn't, she just knows that money wouldn't be a problem for this guy. I thought.. maybe he went selling for a couple summers, has a great job and is very established. In my mind.. these were hardcore brownie points.

I had texted my Mom still trying to get information out of her about an hour before he was supposed to show up. I asked her if he was good looking and if he was my type, and her response was, "Well if it counts for anything, I think he is super duper good looking!" Well alrighty then.

I was all prepared with the perfect outfit, asked my guy friend Alex which perfume I should wear and was sitting on the couch waiting for this mystery guy to arrive. I had told my roommate Devon about this and she insisted that she answer the door so that she could see him before I did. The door bell rang and she comes running out of her room saying,"I'll answer it! I'll answer it!" I hurried back into the hallway and I hear, "Is Annie here?"

I walked out into the living and my hands immediately go up to my mouth in amazement, tears ran form my eyes, and I was speechless.

That mystery guy, the BYU accounting major guy from Southern California was MY DAD!!!

^^ My face looking odd because tears were running out of my eyes right when I saw him walk through the door with a bouquet of flowers in my favorite color. 

^^ Mom asked me to text her a picture of my outfit before the date

We went to Texas Roadhouse and enjoyed talking about school, flag football, BYU football (yes, I am my fathers daughter!), work, how Riverside/Provo life is going and all sorts of things. Afterwards Dad took me to the grocery store and bought all of my groceries. If you had told me a few years ago that someone buying my groceries would be the best gift ever, I would probably just shrug my shoulders. Nope. Ask any college student, free groceries has got to be one of the greatest things in the world. 

This "daddy daughter date" was almost like an escape from the real world and was exactly what I needed. When I was little Dad and I would go on "daddy daughter dates" quite often and it was so great to feel like were back in the good ole days. 

Dad had to come up to Provo to see a client and Mom and Dad put together this sneaky plan. Well Momma and Dad.. you sure surprised me! This one sure is an adventure for the books :)

Vicious and Delicious

For the past couple months or so I have had the amazing opportunity to be on a women's flag football team for intramural sports at BYU. Our team name is Vicious and Delicious, and let me tell ya, the name certainly describes out team. I can be 100% honest when I say that no on takes flag football as serious as we do. The way that a week looks for the "Delish Girls" is.. practice on a day before our game, practice an hour before game time, post game talks, film night that includes protein shakes, inspirational talks and videos (many times includes "Remember The Titans") and obviously game day with great enthusiasm and instruction from our two loyal coaches Cort (Coach Vicious) and Nate (Coach Delicious).  

We take our football very seriously. The "solid seven" as we call ourselves is now in the division one tournament hoping and practicing to come out of our next game with a win. 

Our last game against "Live Action" was certainly an eventful one. I will let the pictures do the talking... Lets just say I've been known to put my body on the line in our games. For some weird reason none of the scrapes on my legs would clot and blood just kept on flowing. In intramural games they will not let you play if you are bleeding. Naturally I did not want them to take me out of the game so I kept wiping my leg on the sleeve of my shirt. I thought this would work but they eventually took me out of the game until I stopped bleeding. I stepped out and we very quickly taped my scrapes in two places so that they couldn't see it bleeding. It didn't feel too good but hey, gotta get back in the game!

^^ If you look closely you can see my leg taped in two places

^^ Putting Hydrogen Peroxide on this was surely.. interesting

^^Post clean up. I don't remember which hit it was that this happened, all I can think of is that those red marks are someones cleats

I has been almost a week since our last game and the swelling of everything has gone down tremendously. Just in time for our game tomorrow. 

Here are some pictures from one of our other games against "Pigskins". Final score was 27-7, we destroyed them! And mom and dad were here to see this game, cheering from the sidelines. 

Vicious and Delicious on and off the field! Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!

Day of Silence

For one of the projects in my ASL class we were told to be silent for 24 hours and have a "Deaf day." We were then supposed to write about the positives and negatives of our experience and I thought that I would share my experience with you. 

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be, it was sure an adventure. When we were given the assignment I was thinking that it would be a “no problem” type of project, nope, not even close! Of course I will never fully know what it is like to be Deaf but I feel that through the experiences that I had during that 24 hours I was able to get a small understanding to what it would be like. Here are some of the positives and negatives from this project to help paint a picture of what it was like. 

Positive: 

1.  I noticed that if I didn’t want to be a part of a conversation, I didn’t need to; mentally, it was easy to step out of. I could easily tune out. I was not necessarily included in the conversation and was not contributing to the topic so I would just completely tune out. Not one person that was involved in this conversation really noticed because I wasn’t giving any sort of input, therefore they didn’t know if I was paying attention or not.
2. I completed my 24 hours of silence on a Sunday and the first activity of the day was to attend church. It was challenging because I wanted to socialize with friends there but had a hard time communicating what I was trying to say, but while the meeting was happening I felt that it was easier for me to focus. I knew it would be a tedious task to try and “talk” to my roommate next to me, I didn’t even think about it, I didn’t even try to communicate with her. My entire focus was on the speaker and what he was teaching. In this specific moment, in these couple hours of church, I felt that talking was just an unnecessary distraction and I was better off not being able to talk because I was giving my full attention to the speakers and their lessons.
3. Being silent for 24 hours gave me the opportunity to step into the shoes of a Deaf person. Although I could still hear what was going on around me I believe that not being able to respond, not knowing what is going on, not feeling included is something that a lot of Deaf people deal with. I was able to see a glimpse of what that is like. 
4. I also noticed that my language skills are more advanced than I thought. I told my roommates the day before my "day of silence" that I will probably start signing what I want to say, I know that they will not understand what I'm saying but just let me blabber on because it will help me to practice. 

Negatives: 

1. The most difficult one and obvious negative from my "day of silence" was trying to converse with the people around me. The only way that I could communicate was trying to use “charades,” typing it out on my phone, or writing it down on a piece of paper. This worked when I was involved in a one on one conversation but when in a bigger group it was not as affective. By the time I had typed something out on my phone, they had already moved on to another topic and whatever I had to say was completely irrelevant to what they were talking about.
2. When the people around me found out that I was silent for the day they did not want to put in the work to have a conversation with me. They would stand there awkwardly for a couple seconds but then say, “Well, I guess I will just talk to you tomorrow” and would completely give up on trying to talk to me. They made zero effort to try and communicate with me, they figured that I was useless and avoided the awkward situation by walking away.
3. Towards the end of the day I stopped making an effort to communicate. If I was ever in a group I silent and did not type anything out on my phone or try and act out what I wanted to say. My thought process became, “they are not going to understand me anyways.” I have been through several ASL classes and feel that I have a good handle on the language and my first instinct, almost without thinking when I cannot speak is to sign but my friends, roommates and family does not know sign language. This becomes very frustrating for both people in the conversation. It was frustrating for me because I have a way of wonderful and effective way of communicating with them but they don’t understand it. They would like nothing more than to be able to converse with me but do not have the knowledge to do so, which can also be frustrating.

I do believe that this project served its purpose in giving me a very small understanding of what it would be like to be Deaf. I learned some of the positives and negatives of having a language barrier or communication barrier and felt the frustration when people did not understand me, something that Deaf people have learned to deal with every day. All in all, I am very grateful for the experiences that I had during this project.

"I can talk with my hands, can you?"

The Answer

Many of you read my last blog post where I was "freaking the heck out" about what I am going to do for the rest of my life (which is not an uncommon thing for me to do to be honest with you). I went back and forth from doing Athletic Training or pursuing American Sign Language. Both of them have very valid pros and cons but I just could not seem to pick one.

I wrote that post while waiting for another class to start and had many hours left in the day to analyze it. That night I called my mom searching for her wisdom. I first asked her what she thought about the post and how it turned out. She said, "It was great, but you just stopped! I was expecting there to be some sort of resolution, an answer to your questions, a happy ending!"  I said, "Well, Mom, I can't write the answer if I don't know the answer haha." We then spent about an hour or so going back and forth trying to come up with the best plan. I was hoping that after that conversation I would have my answer, nope, not even close.

Throughout the next week the question of "What the heck am I going to do with my life?!" was in the very front of my mind, so much that it was really all I could think about, this made paying attention in anatomy quite difficult. Question after question came up. Can I have a family while doing this? What would I do with this degree? Would I have to go on and get a masters? Could I see myself being successful in this? Could I have a decent income? Could I work part time? Where would I work? Could I live anywhere and pursue this?

After doing all of the research, analyzing just about every detail, praying about it, going to the temple, asking around, and many many long phone calls with Mom.. I have come to a decision.

Today is September 26th at 10:26am, I am sitting in the Gunther Technology building at UVU drinking a Jamba juice smoothie (probably an unimportant detail) waiting for my ASL Numbers class to start and I officially have an appointment with my counselor at 2:30 today to change my major to American Sign Language with an emphasis in Interpreting and either a double major or minor in child development.

When I made this decision I wanted to jump from my seat and scream at the top of my lungs and say, "I AM SO PUMPED FOR LIFE!!!" and I had a day dream where everyone in the hallways start applauding saying, "Atta girl Annie!" or "Heck yes! You finally made a decision!" But instead of there being a massive applause throughout the hallways, I have just taken a big deep breath, a sigh of relief and a big smile.

ASL gives me such joy. I can be 100% honest and say that I do not go a day without using it. Whether its signing while I talk, singing at my side without even thinking or teaching signs to my friends. I know that I have a long road ahead of me and interpreting is a whole new ball game but it is what I enjoy. I think about the next couple years and how many opportunities I have and I get all giddy inside. I guess thats when you know you've made the right decision yea?

Thank you for all of your support and words of encouragement! Bring on the new adventure! :)

The BIG question

Think about how many years we have been in school, how many class projects, presentations, tests, lame pop quizzes, homework assignments, final papers that we wrote the night before, final tests, awards and graduations/promotions we have had in our lives. Our teachers and parents hope that through all that we come out knowing what type of career we want and what we want to do for the rest of our lives. Some have known what they've wanted to do since that one field trip they had in 6th grade. Some figure it out from a job during high school, a role model, a specific experience, a class in college or from watching what their parents do for a living and are taking over the family business. Then there are those that are still trying to figure it out.

^^ Pre school with Miss Jolene 

^^ 4th grade with Mrs. Jones

^^ Adams graduation from King 2004

^^ My High School Graduation in 2013 from KING

The one question we were always asked growing up was "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I was thinking about this question the other day and for the life of me cannot remember what my answer was! What the heck! I was probably asked this question hundreds of times while I was little and I cannot remember what I said.

Once I got to high school and the question became less playful and more serious I had more of a specific answer. I knew what field I wanted to get into, finally. I always said either Athletic Training, Physical Therapy or Sports Broadcasting. I felt ahead of the game because I knew what field I wanted and just from my observation of the rest of my classmates, they just wanted to last until graduation and they'd figure it out later. For me, not planning is NOT an option and for those of you who know me know that is the truth! I have been planning my life for as long as I could remember and sometimes struggled with things that I could not control. Now I can control what I do for my career and that terrifies me!

I have loved sports, being active and helping people all my life. I played sports growing up, played tennis in high school and also ran track all four years. I experienced several injuries during those years and in result became very close with my athletic trainer. I even took her sports medicine class and was very fascinated by that as well. Knowing that, why not go into Athletic Training? Seems pretty simple right? Its what I love to do, there are many jobs for it and heck I could even work at BYU for one of their collegiate teams or maybe even be the head athletic trainer of the athletic department, now wouldn't that be cool!!

Now lets take a little bit of a detour. Throughout high school I had always had the desire to take some sort of an ASL class or just learn more about it. I had learned some in primary from Teri, a beyond amazing woman and the best singing time director I had ever had. Teri grew up with deaf parents and was fluent in ASL and I remembered quite often learning songs with the signs attached to them. Along with that, a very close friend of mine, Nathan, who is actually on an ASL mission right now in Texas grew up very close to the deaf community because his grandparents were deaf (Nathan is Teri's nephew). He knew a lot of ASL and his Mom, Janet, (Teri's sister), a women I consider a role model to me is fluent in ASL as well.

Although I was not born yet, my parents served in a Deaf branch in our stake and I will never forget the story that my mom told me when I was younger about a girl in that deaf branch who gave a special musical number during sacrament meeting. She had a CD player with her that played the music while she signed the words to the song. The way that my mom described this musical number to me was that it was "like a dance" and "the most beautiful thing she had ever seen."

After having all of this exposure to American Sign Language in my life I finally had the opportunity to learn more and took my first ASL course during my first semester at BYU. I struggled a little bit in the beginning with finger spelling and just keeping up but I had a very specific moment where it all just CLICKED! I finally got it! It made sense! And I loved every minute of it. I then left BYU campus and attended the BYU Salt Lake center where they did not offer ASL classes and the extent of my signing was the little signing I would with 2 of my roommates that knew ASL or the fingerspelling I would do at my side while passing billboards, school signs or even just random words I was thinking. I took fall and winter semester at the Salt Lake Center then jumped at the chance to attend BYU for spring term and I took the next ASL course. All that finger spelling I did at my side sure paid off because my fingerspelling had gotten faster, clearer and had become more advanced. I do remember my first day back in an ASL class and I think the best to describe it would be "lost." I called my mom after the class on my walk back to my apartment and expressed how frustrated I was that I couldn't understand a word that my professor was saying and I felt seriously overwhelmed. I didn't know if I was going to stick with it. She, as always, gave me the best advice, just stay with it! I hadn't been using my ASL for a while and just needed to get back in the swing of things. I listened to momma...thank goodness!

My ASL professor told me, if you want to do anything with ASL, don't go to BYU, go to UVU. I have now transferred to Utah Valley University because their ASL program compared to BYU is much more advanced and prestigious. I figured that I would major in Exercise Science and do Athletic Training like I had always planned and just take ASL classes for fun. That has evolved to minoring in ASL and either try and connect the two and possibly be way too specific and work with deaf athletes or maybe just have my ASL as a hobby, just a language that I know, something I learned in college. Now the thought that has been in front of my mind is..well, I LOVE every minute of my ASL classes, learning new signs, teaching signs to my friends and learning more about the deaf culture, all of it. It just makes sense to me. I love it when people ask about why I love learning it, how I got into it or seeing the surprised face they get when I say American Sign Language. So I think about it more and more..Why am I not majoring in this!? Do I dare let go of my athletic background that I have had my entire life? Would I teach ASL? If so, who would I teach? College students? High School kids? Children? Parents with deaf children? Would I become an interpreter? Could I do this while having a family?

Who ever thought that I would be trying to make the decision between Athletic Training and American Sign Language. I thought that I could just go 'halfsies' with both of them but everything is telling me that you need to give 100% in one thing! Take it and run with it. Don't give half of your attention to two things. Pick one. But which one do I choose? The love that I have had my entire life? Or my new found love that fascinates me every time I learn a new sign? Either one would be a wonderful adventure, but which adventure do I choose?

It ultimately comes down to the BIG question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" "What do I want to do for the rest of my life?"

Another A&C McKell couple!

After months of planning and waiting Austin and Chandra got married on Saturday! We were so grateful to be able to stay in Caroline's parents condo right across the street from the Salt Lake Temple. Made everything ten times easier when having to transport all sorts of things to and from wedding festivities. I drove up to SLC after my classes on Friday and helped with last minute preparations for the big day. Mom and I (mostly Mom) made all the lunches for in between the sealing and the reception. It was fun to have that time with Mom and talk.

^^^ They were beyond yummy! The Milano cookies were my idea ;)

^^^ Mom made the sandwiches, Mimi did the potato salad.. I tied the bow haha

There cannot be a McKell gathering without something related to BYU and this event was no different! The season opener for BYU football season was on Friday against UCONN and we played great. We are all insanely excited about the upcoming season. I have high hopes for the cougars. Just bought my all sports pass and am pumped for the first home game. Eleanor enjoyed the game as well, she is a BYU fan by birth haha She really is the "cutest BYU fan." Now that all the McKell kids are married, looks like its just me and you Eleanor Ruby. Im here for ya babe! ;) 

^^ Partners in crime

It is hard for me to put into words of how blessed. My three brothers are my world. They have been the greatest examples to me my entire life. Whether is was something as silly as making sure I grew up knowing how to throw a spiral or that I understand that I can do anything I set my mind to and they are there to cheer me on in whatever I do. Here's a little trip down memory lane...

And here we are now... 

Austin, I am so happy for you and so excited for you to start this new journey in your life with Chandra. You two are so perfect for each other. I remember the day when you told me about Chan. You were driving me to school because I was on crutches with my broken ankle and we were driving through the parking garage. You told me about this girl that you had met and been out with. The way that your face lit up when you told me about her and even just said her name, I knew that you had found the one. Then you brought her home for Thanksgiving and I couldn't imagine you with anyone else but her. Love you always bro!

Chandra, I am beyond blessed to have you as a sister. I have loved having all this time with you and making sure that you had at least one McKell around you while Austin was gone haha. We have become so close and even though it wasn't official, you were my sister already :) Love you much Chan! 

Heres to the adventures of Austin and Chandra McKell, the newest McKell A&C couple!

Sunday Adventure

I have been quite lazy with the whole blog posting thing the past couple of weeks, Okay okay.. the past couple months. I have made a new goal to write every two weeks on Sunday, so lets see how that goes.

I am sitting at my kitchen table of my new apartment eating my breakfast with about 20 minutes until I have to leave for work. Mom and Austin were here this past weekend for Chandra's bridal shower and also for Austin and Chandra to take their bridal pictures. Cannot believe that my last brother is going to be getting married in about 7 days! I will officially be the lone ranger of the McKell clan... its okay, I have Eleanor to keep me company ;)

It had all just worked out to have Mom here that weekend because there were so many things that just happened to fall on those days. I was moving out and into a new apartment and I also spoke in church on Sunday. It all just came together!

There sure was a drama that happened on Sunday morning. I picked up Mom from my Aunt and Uncles house before church and was going through the main points of my talk and realized that I was missing the last two pages! Church was going to start at 10:00 and there was no way we would've had time to run home, print it, and have time for me to be up on the stand before they started the meeting. So our solution was to have Mom go back to my apartment, print it and hopefully make it back before church started. Well I walked into the building and there was only a handful of people there. My bishop walks up to me and tells me that they had decided to push the meeting back to 10:30. I felt such relief from this because that meant that Mom would for sure be back in time with the last two pages of my talk.

We were combining with all the other wards in the complex and this was just the beginning of the scheduling conflicts.

Bishop then walks up to me a couple minutes later as I was sitting with Mom, Chandra and Austin and says, "Sooo.... you may not even be speaking today." WHAT!!!! Apparently there was another scheduling conflict and another ward also assigned people to speak and in result we had 6 people assigned to speak for just one meeting. There was no way I was going to back down and to speak. Lets just say I can be very persuasive when I need to be. I spoke and was very happy with the way it was delivered and it made it even more special to have Mom, Austin and Chandra there.


Here is my talk.. I was allowed to pick any topic I wanted from a conference talk.

We have all heard the quotes, “If you’re not first your last” or “No one remembers who came in second” or "When you win, nothing hurts.” I don’t know about you but those words were engraved in my brain not by anyone else but by my own self. I always believed that if I couldn’t succeed on my first try, I was a complete failure. I maintained this mindset up until and throughout my high school years, even though I was raised in a family that taught the exact opposite.

I remember a very specific moment in my Algebra 2 class. I was taking a normal chapter test and came to a question that had me stumped. I sat at the edge of my desk and did what I call “spiraling.”

It started as…

·      If I got this one question wrong my test grade then would drop

·      If my grade dropped, then my grade in the class would drop

·      If my grade in the class dropped, then my GPA would drop

·      If my GPA dropped, then before I knew it I wouldn’t be able to get into the college of my choice

·      I wouldn’t be able to major in what I wanted

·      I wouldn’t be able to provide for my family

·      And the rest of my life would not go as I planned

This became a constant occurrence. Just because of that one math problem.

What I want to talk about today are some things that have helped me to change my perspective about failure and success. In my room there are all sorts of sticky notes, doodles, to do lists, and random quotes plastered on my walls. There is one quote by Bob Kennedy; US 5000 meter record holder that I know is true because I experienced it as I ran track all through high school. This quote states, QUOTE “One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you're not going anywhere."  END QUOTE

I learned that I couldn’t win the race if I didn’t run the race. We cannot succeed if we don’t try. And trying includes failing. How many times have we had our feet in the starting blocks of life and before the gun goes off we have convinced ourselves that we have no chance at winning. This is not our Heavenly Fathers plan!

President Monson in his talk titled “The Will Within” teaches us that; “Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.”

Picture it now; you’ve finished your last final and waiting for your score to appear on the screen outside the testing center. What is going through your head? I could hear my mothers voice saying to me, “Annie, what’s the worst thing that could happen?” I would answer, “Well, if I fail, I will have to retake this class.” She would respond, “Now is that really the WORST thing that could ever happen?” “No, it wasn’t the worst thing that could ever happen, she was right.”

In a BYU devotional, Professor Brish said, QUOTE “Observers of the martyred Joseph Smith might have found his life a failure if they had seen his limp and lifeless body on the ground at Carthage Jail. And many who looked on the Savior as he hung dying on the cross might have considered his mission a failure as well. But time has shown the apparent temporary failure of Joseph Smith to be but the prelude to the glorious growth of the Lord’s work. And the Savior’s apparent failure at Calvary was in actuality the greatest conquest in all eternity, the conquest over sin and death. That we may learn to distinguish between what appears to be success and what is success in eternal terms.”  END QUOTE

We need to embrace failure. Failure creates success. If we quit before we even start we have lost all chances of succeeding. My parents always told me “Just stay in your own lane.” This counsel made sense to me but hadn’t really sunk in until I was literally on the track, racing, in my own lane. To look over at my opponent would’ve been death because my complete focus would be lost. I would lose my footing, my form, my momentum and possibly the entire race.

President Monson shared a story about John Helander from Sweden. A handicapped 26 year old, John took part in a 1500-meter running race. He had no chance to win. Rather, his was the opportunity to be humiliated, mocked, derided, scorned. Perhaps John remembered another who lived long ago and far away. Wasn’t He mocked? Wasn’t He derided? Wasn’t He scorned? But He prevailed. He won His race. Maybe John could win his.

What a race it was! Struggling, surging, pressing, the runners bolted far beyond John. There was wonderment among the spectators. Who is this runner who lags so far behind? The participants on their second lap of this two-lap race passed John while he was but halfway through the first lap. Tension mounted as the runners pressed toward the tape. Who would win? Who would place second? Then came the final burst of speed; the tape was broken. The crowd cheered; the winner was proclaimed.

The race was over—or was it? Who is this contestant who continues to run when the race is ended? He crosses the finish line on but his first lap. Doesn’t the foolish lad know he has lost? Ever onward he struggles, the only participant now on the track. This is HIS race. This must be HIS victory. No one among the vast throng of spectators leaves. Every eye is on this valiant runner. He makes the final turn and moves toward the finish line. There is awe; there is admiration. Every spectator sees himself running his own race of life. As John approaches the finish line, the audience, as one, rises to its feet. There is a loud applause of acclaim. Stumbling, falling, exhausted but victorious, John breaks the newly tightened tape. The cheering echoes for miles. And just maybe, if the ear is carefully attuned, that Great Scorekeeper—even the Lord—can be heard to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).

Each of us is a runner in the race of life. Comforting is the fact that there are many runners. Reassuring is the knowledge that our eternal Scorekeeper is understanding. Challenging is the truth that each must run. But you and I do not run alone. That vast audience of family, friends, and leaders will cheer our courage, will applaud our determination as we rise from our stumbling’s and pursue our goal. The race of life is not for sprinters running on a level track. The course is marked by pitfalls and checkered with obstacles.

After learning this, As I sit in the testing center I don’t think of all the failures that could come if I get just that ONE QUESTION wrong. I know that I don’t need to be afraid of failure. I know that throughout this race of life all our Savior wants is for us to try. To do our best. He wants us to pick ourselves up when we fall and He has extended his hand, all we have to do is reach up and grab it.

Just to repeat that quote from the beginning, QUOTE “One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you're not going anywhere." END QUOTE

The Savior knows that life isn’t just a warm up lap or a stroll through the park. In knowing that, He wants us to not stop at the finish line but run through it; to end out of breath and know that we gave it everything that we had.

I ran the 400-meter and the 4x4 relay in high school. If any of you have raced the 400-meter you know about the wall that you hit at the 300-meter mark. You can’t feel your legs and your lungs feel as if they are collapsing on you. My older brother Austin, who was on the team with me was only one person that could get me to “kick” at that mark and to give it everything I had for the last 100 meters.. I heard his voice in my head even after he graduated saying, “Give it all you got!” “Go get it!”

While this helped me through my track career, there is also a parallel to the Savior. When we feel like we have hit that wall and feel that we should give up and accept failure, He is there telling us, “Give it all you got!” He has run the same race. He knows us and knows we can win!

He wants us to “obtain the prize prepared for all, even exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God.”

I bear you my testimony that if we do this, if we are obedient, if we stay in our own lane and stay focused on the prize and not the price, if we realize that our failures create our successes we will stand in the winner’s circle.

And we will hear…

Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

I would go on and on about how much I love my new apartment, roommates and how I am not exactly sure if I am excited for school to start on Monday of if I am dreading it all together. I'll let you know how I feel after the first day of school. Class Monday through Friday and 20 hours of work... check on me to see if I still have my sanity when the semester ends.

My alarm has gone off telling me I need to leave for work. Have a great adventure today! :)

Where did the time go..

Realizing that the last time that I posted was in May and it is now almost August. Looking back on what has happened since May and trying to compile a list just blows my mind of how much has happened. Another thing that blows my mind are all of the things that are going to change in the next few months and for the rest of 2014. So how do I tell you all of the things that happened? Here goes! Don't worry, I'll just give you the Cliff Notes version..

1. Remember that I worked at a super awesome place called 'The Awful Waffle' ? Well the beloved Awful Waffle is now non existent. It has been turned into an Italian restaurant called Caf é Galleria. This picture was from my last night at the The Awful Waffle..  and of course I had to document it! I sure loved working here. Even if I was only there for a short amount of time I came to love the girls that I worked with and was sad to see it go.

2. Went home for Mom's OCMCO concert in Orange County and was so happy to have the entire family in one place, even if it was just for a weekend. It felt really weird to be the one in the audience instead of the one on stage performing. 

^^ minus Caroline.. she was home with the babes aka Eleanor 

 ^^ I sure love these goobers! 

^^ LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS! 

3. Getting back on a wakeboard for the first time since I broke my ankle! I was more than just a little nervous about it. There certainly is a weird feeling that goes along with "getting back on the horse" as they say, or in my case, "getting back on the water." I wasn't planning on wake boarding this trip because it wasn't our boat, wasn't my board and it wasn't my dad that was driving the boat but am so glad that I did! I sat on the swim step with my bindings all strapped in thinking about the last time I was on a wakeboard and just praying to not repeat that experience. Well, I popped right up and let me tell you, as my dad says, "I felt great fantastic and never felt better in my life"

4. Fourth Of July, watching fireworks from the park in front of the Provo temple. 

5. Vancouver Trip, I will give you the cliff notes version because I am going to do another blog post on just the Vancouver trip. Here is a little teaser of some of the pictures from the trip. 

^^ Austin says, "Annie! Take a picture of me hugging this tree!"

^^ Gotta love the happy couple ;)

^^ Eleanor's first time in a pool. We weren't quite sure how she felt about it

5. Free Train concert with Chandra in downtown Salt Lake. We started pretty far back in the crowd but as the night moved on we pushed and shoved our way closer to the stage and ended pretty darn close. It was a great night! I am so grateful to have such an amazing soon to be sister in law. Love you Chan! And Austin, ya did good brother ;)

I am now officially all caught up with the big events that have happened in the past few months. I am really hoping that that didn't sound like just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. 

Don't ever forget that "Life is an adventure, don't waste it!"