One More Year

It's hard for me to believe that after this year comes to an end, I will be on my final term volunteering on what has been one of my favorite experiences on the best governor appointed entities ever. I have learned and grown so much as someone who wants nothing more than to feel accepted into society as well as leaving an imprint on the hearts of people they associate with. I may not have done nearly as much as most people and yet I have been provided with opportunities that I didn't ever think someone like me deserved--which if you must know was an absolute blessing in more ways than one!!! 

I remember the first time ever listening in on a UDDC quarterly meeting and not having any idea about what I had signed up for. Let me give you a little bit of background on this and hopefully make a little bit more sense about where is this leading up to:

SIX YEARS AGO:

After participating in one of the best disability leadership conferences ever, I had this thought come to my mind that I would one day be involved with the DD council. I obviously didn't know at the time it would end up becoming a reality and continuing to spread my message of hope about the disability community that I love so much. 

My final term continues into the new year and can hardly believe it will be concluded before my eyes... I am definitely grateful for the memories, experiences, adventures that being on this council has provided me with. I may not have said too much in regards to a lot of disability related issues, but I know that my life has never been the same. 

I have made new friendships with so many incredible self advocates, colleagues and others who are striving each day to make our disability community more inclusive than it could ever be. I am truly humbled to know there is one last BIG BANG that I can leave before hitting the trail of whatever is coming up next for me!!! 

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Summer Recap

 This entire summer has been one of the most unforgettable and at times given me opportunities to grow in more ways than I ever could have imagined. I have definitely made some of the most amazing memories-- that are always going to keep close to my heart and others that I only hope will occur again in the distant future. 

June 2025 Highlights:

- SNAP Activities

- Family Time

- Disneyland & California Adventure Vacation

- Late Nights

- Journal Writing

- Best News Ever!!!

- Ability First Summer Program (Volunteering)

July 2025 Highlights:

- Unforgettable Moments

- Entertainment Parade with my IL Center (July 4th)

- Journal Writing

- Reading my new fantasy book (Legacy of Roses)

- Attended my good friend Will's birthday party!!!

-  Ability First Summer Program (Talent Show)

- Birthday Party (Dinner, Presents, Cake, and Annie! at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre.)

- Color Me Mine! (Painting Mugs)

August 2025 Highlights: (So Far)

- Heading back to SNAP later this week

- Zoo Trip with Ability First Utah

- Late Nights

- Big Time Rush Concert

- Swimming at local Rec Center with Ability First

- UDDC Stuff 

As you can see from these highlights, I have definitely enjoyed my summer break and getting to spend quality time with my friends along with many others made it one I will not soon forget. I am excited to get back into SNAP later this week and have something to look forward to, which if you ask me is not anything short of an understatement. I also really liked getting to volunteer in my independent living center's summer program and help everyone of the participants have a good experience, which if you must know taught me a lot more about myself than I ever imagined. I may not have been perfect with what I was asked to do at times, but all I could do was my best effort and make sure it was something nobody would soon forget. 

Birthday Plans

My twin sister and I along with our friends from Ability First will be going swimming at the Provo Rec Center for a couple of hours. We are excited to swim and spend quality time with everyone is going to be an amazing experience that I know we will cherish forever!!! As far as being a peer mentor for this, I know there will be a lot of laughs, smiles, and opportunities to put my leadership skills to good use. I am excited to get back in the pool again and maybe if we get luck enough we can go on some of the slides if people who would feel comfortable with that want to. Who knows??? I am almost positively certain we will plan on bringing frozen treats for everybody to have prior to being at the pool for part of the day and hopefully everybody will like them as much as we do. It has definitely been a great time for me to get to know our participants better and learn so much from them about living life to the fullest. #LeadershipSkills #PeerMentor.

LONG AFTER THAT---We are going to come back home and get cleaned up for the rest of our amazing day of swimming at the Provo Rec Center. We will be heading out to dinner with our friends prior to the play we will be attending at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre to see the inspiring musical, ANNIE!! It's definitely going to be a late night for all of us and yet I know we will have a lot of laughs, memories and happiness to share with each other!!! I cannot wait to sing along with the songs that are in this musical and obviously being inspired with how a young girl handles living in a time of the great depression--which if you ask me I am certain was nothing short of easy. I am grateful for the hope she had to push through the challenges she was up against and able to see the light at the end of the tunnel---but you get the idea here??

I am not particularly certain this will ever happen on my birthday or that anything will come of it---but I would love to get a pair of tickets to attend at least one or two of the BYU women's basketball games this season!!! I absolutely loved getting to be in the seats a couple of inches from the court and watching our lady cougars compete to the best of their abilities. It would be so much fun to get another epic selfie with the greatest of all time mascot and of course he would make the experience one that I would cherish forever!!! I am hopeful there will be one day when I can get my first and only selfie with Paisley and her husband Connor after one of the BYUWBB games--- which if you must know would only make this year one that I would keep close to my heart for many years to come. I don't know if it will ever make it into the pictures on my phone, but I will say that it would be a core memory that would last forever. #FingersCrossed #Randomness #LetsGoLadyCougars #iBleedBlue. 

Sports Nation

LAST THURSDAY----I came across an Instagram post from the BYUWBB team and noticed that one of their all time leaders had gotten hired on as one of their newest assistant coaches!! I was incredibly stoked for them to have an unforgettable opportunity to work alongside collegiate players that are dedicated and passionate about the game of basketball. I am not particularly sure if we are going to have an opportunity to get tickets to the home games this season and have a chance to cheer on the lady cougars--just a couple of inches above the court. I would obviously love to once again see this former all time leader, player and role model in action as they have the experience to coach the team where their collegiate basketball career started!!! 

LONG STORY SHORT----I have been a diligent follower of this individual for about three years now and if you must know it has blessed my life in more ways than I can admit. I am grateful for the examples that people are continuously in the lives of so many around them and only wish I could be like them everyday of my life. I know my life is not even close to being perfect in anyway and sometimes I will come up very short in things that happen to me, but I know through my Savior, Jesus Christ everything will make sense if you know what I am saying??

EARLIER TODAY----I noticed they had an interview on BYU Sports Nation which is a BYU program that me and my family will watch sometimes or will have recorded if a good episode came on. I certainly at times do not ever think about watching this unless I come across it on social media, but that is not any thing I follow very closely or as often as I would like.



BACK TO THIS INTERVIEW---I was impressed with the professionalism, maturity, positive energy and the eloquence that Paisley had with every unique question she was asked throughout the episode. I definitely loved how she took a little bit of time to just remember her memorable moments with being a collegiate player and now getting back onto the other side of things. 

I am grateful for the influence and positive example she has continued to be in my life throughout these past three years. I know we have only met each other twice in person and didn't necessarily speak up as much as I should have in the moment but I am excited for the both of us to get to know each other as the months pass on!!! I am not particularly sure when it will happen again and hopefully when it does I will have nothing but say genuinely kind things to them. #IYKYK. 

Entertainment Parade

My independent living along with my friends have been invited to participate in the entertainment parade this weekend and I obviously could not be more than excited for it. I am definitely hoping to walk past so many familiar faces along the parade route and make everyone smile prior to the annual event that will be happening shortly after. 

My friends and I are joining up with the adult group at our independent living center to decorate the trailer we are going to be walking behind---which if you ask me is going to be a new experience for me!!! I know it will be a long ways to go and I am positively certain once things are done, it will have been worth every minute. 

I have been specifically asked to walk alongside one of the youth coordinators and help everybody else have a good experience while on the parade route, which I am certain is going to feel a lot longer than I think most of us will expect. I really hope this will end up being an opportunity that our IL center gets to have in the distant future if we get ourselves lucky!!! :) 

Flash Forward (Tomorrow)

We are going to combine with the adult group at our IL center and decorate our float to how we want it--- which if you ask me is a completely different story!!! I am excited to see what plans we have in mind for something that I genuinely hope no one in the community will remember for years down the road!! I am pretty stoked to be a part of something that I was not particularly sure was going to happen and due to the fact we are not consumers anymore--I was a little hesitant about whether this was something we could be involved in and yet here we are!!! 

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June Dump

Volunteering in the Ability First Summer Program

It has been a lot of fun to volunteer in my independent living center's summer program and helping the participants get as much out of this experience as they can. I will admit that being on the other side of things feels a little weird, but at the same time I have enjoyed getting to help everyone have a positive experience during their activities. I am grateful for the participants who continue to make every single activity one that you will never forget and remind me of how important it is to set a good example for those around me. #IYKYK

Final SNAP Activity

One of the local high school marching bands will be coming to our SNAP activity tonight and maybe possibly helping us make a new shaker for us to play with during the parade. It's definitely going to be different not having any activities next month but I think it will be nice to have a break till early August when we have our welcome back dance!!! I look forward to an unforgettable evening with a lot of laughs, smiles and moments that I will cherish for years to come!! #TooMuchFun #Celebration. 

Best News Ever!!! (Mini Edition)

LONG STORY SHORT--- I could not be more excited for one of the former BYUWBB players and who was an assistant coach for the UVUWBB team for a year, has returned back to where her career in b-ball started!!! It has been such a delight for me to follow her journey as an assistant coach and let me tell you, this continues to be something I didn't think I would enjoy as much as I have--but you get the idea?? I am grateful for the example she continues to be in the lives of not only me, but so many others who have had the privilege to know her. I am not particularly certain if we will get to any of the home games during this season, but if we do I know the experience will be an unforgettable one!!! #StayTunedForMore. 

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Disneyland & California Adventure Highlights

Spending one entire day in the happiest place on earth was nothing short of incredible and at times not quite what I had imagined---but you get the idea here?? I enjoyed getting to see the characters that we genuinely love so much and interacting with them for short periods of time, was truly amazing in every sense of the word. Obviously, the entire park was jam packed with a lot of people who amazed me with how many various styles and colors of "Minnie Mouse" ears that I saw them wearing--which if you ask me would have bugged me the second I would have had them on my head. #ItsTheTruth.

Some of my favorite rides included:

- Space Mountain

- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

- Jungle Cruise

- Indiana Jones

- Buzz Lighter Astro Blasters

- Snow White's Enchanted Wish

- Incredi-Coaster

- Toy Story Midway Mania

- Ariel's Undersea Adventure

- Cars Land Ride

- Pirates of The Caribbean 

Too many of these to choose from and yet I am grateful to have had the time away without any kind of commitments back home to worry about. I really liked getting to unwind from the craziness in life and embrace the magic that both theme parks had to offer, which if you ask me is not even close to being an understatement. I also really enjoyed both of the parades we had the opportunity to watch and of course, dance along with the performers that were dancing in the streets!!! I will admit that overall this trip was one for the books and hopefully we can make it there again some time in the distant future, but just so ya know only time will tell. #ICYMI. 

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