Highlights

Special Needs Institute at Utah Valley University

It was truly one of the most significant experiences ever and getting to feel of the spirit very strongly each week, was just indescribable. I loved being able to learn so much more about this gospel and how amazingly simple it is to live everyday, which I can admit is never gonna leave me any time soon. I am grateful for the privilege and opportunity that I had to not only attend the class itself, but to also make some brand new friendships with people that I hope will last a lifetime!!!

Night To Shine Worldwide Prom 2017 - Ogden, Utah (The Genesis Project)

This unforgettable prom night experience is one that I will cherish forever and cannot wait to do all over again in the coming year. It is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation which basically started this event about three years ago and having began with a small group of people has just continued to grow significantly over time... believe it or not!!! This isn't close to what kind of prom you attended in high school and plus EVERYTHING was free at this event, but you had to register online and save yourself a spot as quickly as you could. Everything from prom dresses, dinner, flower corsages, limo rides, tiaras, as well as crowns are all donated for this one special night that individuals like myself will cherish for many years to come. I definitely loved being able to wear a brand new prom dress that was completely different and unique from all of the ones... that I was seeing many girls have on. It was certainly more on the princess style dress side than mine was but considering the fact that it was priced originally at $430 and got marked down at $49 on clearance which I will admit was such a bargain of a good deal for something like that. I loved feeling like a queen all night long at such an incredible event that I'll always look back on and say it was nothing short of being a dream come true!!!

Volunteer Aide - Eighth Year

If you had asked me seven years ago, about whether or not I wanted to be a high school intern over at Westridge Elementary School I probably wouldn't have said much expect that I'd give it my best effort in trying to learn to love first grade students unconditionally. I was never somebody who didn't think they would be very good at something like this, but at the time I had so much that was really expected of me and trying to make a good impression took some more patience than I imagined. I'm not gonna lie when I say that after my first year, I was standing outside the classroom door and literally almost got teardrops in my eyes because I had gotten so attached to those kids and the teacher. Even though I was not able to perform certain tasks as well as I would have liked to, which sometimes still is a tough obstacle for me to get past every once in awhile.. but I have learned to never give up and keep moving forward. It has literally been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, but having said that-- I have continued to grow so much as a person and whether those students know about my personal story or not I know they are more than willing to accept me for the help I am there to give. I've really loved being in two third grade classrooms this year so much and having a brand new curriculum is always super fun, but meeting new people has been an incredible experience for me. Cannot wait to see what the rest of this school year has in store for me and hoping to learn so many more things along the way!!!

Other Events/Highlights from my year in 2017:

Sneak Preview
Photoshoot
Ninja Conference
Self Determination Conference
Special Needs Ballroom
Untitled Post
Spectacular

New Adventure

Advocates As Leaders Speakers Network - (Shift Training Opportunity)

This new opportunity was brought up to me yesterday afternoon when I finished up with my run through practice of Supported Decision Making and let me try to explain a little more about this... giving you some kind of idea what it really is meant to be for.

One of the nonprofit organizations in Utah County has these classes about training people how to train for writing up a job resume, learning various skills on who they are, what their disability is... along with self advocacy, self determination among many other topics where I will be training them how to train other people to do the same in their lives too. I would definitely be getting paid between $12-$15 dollars hourly for participating in this non-volunteer eight week course on how to assist the people in these classes on how to be successful in life. It would obviously be making multiple trips to Salt Lake City, Utah and going up to the Utah Parent Center to give other people a chance to know if they have something important in their life, many of them would want to achieve-- that I could be the example/good role model/strong speaker for them during the time of me being there & giving them a voice of their own. 

This experience would definitely give me a chance to meet some new people and have the privilege to let these people know they can do anything, regardless of what anybody else thinks they are NOT capable of being able to make a reality. I haven't necessarily made an official decision about this yet and I do know because of what this opportunity would give me, I am going to continue thinking thru this and talking with my mom about whether or not, this would be a good fit for me. I would not feel the need to pass up an opportunity like this one because if I don't go after it at some point, when am I going to???? 

Free Write

At this time of year I have reflect back on the many blessings that I'm so grateful for & whether or not somebody like me really deserved them... I know that my life will never be the same. This year has definitely gotten it's own share of ups and downs along the way, but there is nothing more than special with knowing that it is something I can express my gratitude for.



One of the many things I'm incredibly grateful for is the opportunity of volunteering at the best local elementary school ever and getting to help in TWO third grade classrooms this year has been such a rewarding experience. I just love the atmosphere of being around so many sweet and awesome kids who continue to put a smile on my face every single week. I especially love helping two remarkable third grade teachers this yr who seriously amaze me everyday with the things that they do and whether they know just what an absolute pleasure they are to volunteer with, would probably become an understatement. I am really grateful for their willingness to have me come into their classrooms and being of help in any possible way that I can.



I am grateful for their patience with an individual like me who may not perform lots of certain tasks as well as they would like to, but I feel like the luckiest person in this world to serve them in whatever capacity and I am forever blessed to be a part of their school year. I am grateful for the many opportunities that I've had to get to know some of the other teachers as well, but you must know that they are all pretty legit and work tirelessly to make this year the most successful one ever.

I am grateful for the chance and opportunity that I will have to be an aunt in the spring of 2018. I am definitely thrilled and nervous about whether I can see myself doing as a good job as I've done with my elementary students. I am probably not one of those girls who gets openly excited about stuff & having to realize that it isn't what you had originally anticipated to hear, but people who have known me forever continue to repeat over and over again this: "Oh, You will be great!!" I truly need to start believing that without having any kind of hesitation in knowing just how this experience will forever change my life.



It will only be a matter of time before I can even comprehend once I have my niece in my arms and having that indescribable feeling of the fact I will love this little girl more than any one like me would even begin to put into words. Can't wait to find out what this aunt phase of life.. will turn out like for me at some point and maybe things will not come to me as naturally as it does for lots of people but I am more than willing to give this a chance!!! 

Extra Loved

One of the many things that I love about volunteering at Westridge Elementary is having the opportunity to work with some of the best teachers ever!!! They have the kindest hearts ever & inspire, encourage, motivate, and teach me new things that I never would have expected myself been able to do.

TODAY was definitely one of my most favorites because I ended up staying over at the Elementary School for a half hour with finishing up stuff that I really didn't want to neglect or not feel a need to get taken care of. It was truly such an absolute treat having to staple so many card stock half sheets of paper onto these construction paper folders that I had made prior to writing all of the students names and numbers on them. I absolutely felt like one of the luckiest people in this world getting to spend a lot of extra time working on a project that I knew would never get finished unless someone was there to complete it. The third grade teacher who I did this project for is someone that I could literally take lots of time rambling on about forever, but these kinds of experiences don't necessarily happen all too often because I usually try to get as much completed as I can in the time that I'm there. Since they had a situation come up that needed to be taken care of right away and there was no time for them to wait for me to get out of their classroom and not have those folders all done. I definitely felt accomplished in having that opportunity to stay a little bit longer and do something that otherwise they would have had to worry about instead, but hey I was more than happy to help in anyway that I could possible. If you must know, I would have easily decided to stick around a little bit longer and finish up one of the other classes that I had just started working on. I kept telling myself about whether or not, I needed to leave a note behind for the third grade teacher which at the time I felt like was appropriate so at least they would know what had been done. After I had finished writing their note and letting them just be aware of what had been completed prior to them returning back to the school, because I did not have any idea when they were going to get back to their classroom. Luckily for me, I was able to get their door locked & head for home without feeling like I had not contributed enough with helping out. I am grateful to have lend a hand in something that doesn't happen all too often, because I rarely ever stick around at the school that late into the afternoon but it was so worth it!!! :) 

I have really stepped out of my comfort zone multiple times throughout the years and truly learning to love being around kids, which to me will only continue to get better with time. I am grateful for everything I have been able to learn from the people who have helped to get me where I am today... because without your guidance, expertise, patience, kindness, support, friendships I don't know if I'd still be doing volunteering like this and just cherishing every moment that I can possible.

I would like to send a shout out to my favorite third grade teacher:


Miss Bonnett,

Thank you so much for an amazing day and I absolutely love working in your classroom!! You are truly such an absolute JOY to work with and getting to know you even better this year has changed my life. It has been so much fun being a part of your classroom and seeing your student's smiling faces every week truly warms my heart more than you know!!! They are a wonderful group of kids who are being taught by the best of the best "Queen Bee" ever and there is no question in my mind about that. 

Trial of Faith - Part Two

An Outpouring of Love

It has literally been so incredibly overwhelming the love and support we have continued to receive from our Ward/Stake family. All of them have stepped in to help with anything that they could and honestly just being able to know that we are not alone in the trials we have, is truly a blessing with out hesitation or questions to be asked. Grand view Hill is one of the most remarkable and awesome neighborhoods ever, because all of the people that consistently watch out for each other & lift one another up during times of struggle/heartache. I know throughout these past few months have not been some of the easiest or happiest times for me, but knowing that we have so many people who love our family so much that they would do anything to help out.



We have felt the love, support as well as the faith and prayers from everybody through this entire journey... more so than I think any one could ever possibly know. Whenever I was feeling incredibly emotional about this and having that chance to reflect on the many people who were behind us, literally brought a sense of peace in my heart that I needed. I really felt like at times when things for me were just almost unbearable & hard to picture myself going through, it gave me the personal self motivation to keep going forward with faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ to never give up.  

I am forever grateful for the many people who have either brought over treats or visited with my dad throughout his recovery was such a heart warming experience for me to be a part of. I knew that lots of people were continuing to keep my dad in their thoughts and prayers after he had returned home with having stayed in the hospital for almost a week. There was never a time when someone would not call us on the phone and want an update on how he was doing but little did I know just what an impact it would have on me to this very day. Thank you all so much for your goodness and the love you continue to share with one another on a regular basis. We love you all so much more than words could say right now as I sit here writing this blog post and expressing my gratitude for the ways you have reached out to do anything that we would have needed at any given moment. 

I honestly don't think saying the words "Thank You" in this post would literally do me any justice after having experienced what we did earlier this summer. It seems like almost just a word to say when someone has generously shared their time & talents with you, but this was completely different from what I have experienced in the past. I know that this trial not only continued to help my testimony of this gospel become something more meaningful and significant in my life than anything else in the world. We are so grateful for the remarkable & legit people that you are not only in the stake but in this community that is surrounded by so many incredible people. Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart for the many things you have done to help me understand and know how simple this gospel really is. I just love it with all of my heart and don't have any slight of an idea about what my life would be if I was not raised up in it. Love you all so much and thanks for supporting us in this what I am going to call nothing but a "Trial of Faith." 

Trial of Faith - Part One

Background Story: (Years Ago/Forever Changed)

So, Awhile back my dad at some point in his life had a minor heart attack and didn't have the slightest idea of when it had taken place or when their issues had actually occurred but little did I know what it would result in down the road. Over the past six months, My dad was not able to walk very far distances when we would go on Sunday walks with my mom and twin sister and if he tried to really exuberant himself with anything such as mowing the lawn or shoveling snow off the sidewalk that it would just make him feel a little more tired than it usually would, but if you are continuing to read through this-- then you pretty much get the idea here right???? He had originally tried to get himself an appointment with the cardiologist back in the spring of this year, but the one he wanted to get into was not able to get him scheduled for about 9 weeks which at the time just seemed like forever until at some point my dad was able to get some help and figure out what was going on with him. It was seriously one of the hardest things for me to see him experience and not having any kind of an idea with expecting to have this be anything short of an "Easy Fix" and simply thought he could try getting a stent put into his heart but since it was so completely closed off, they were not able to make that happen for him and we needed a plan B to go off from. 

If you know where I'm gonna be heading with this story here, please don't be afraid to shed a few tears or more just simply because I couldn't keep them back from me either. Let me continue on with the rest of my experience and trying to keep myself together as much as I can without having tears of my own running down my cheeks but I can't necessarily promise that it won't happen while you read through this blog post.

August 25th, 2017 - Temporary Home????

It was literally a complete turn of events when my mom FINALLY came home from being at the hospital with my dad almost all day long, got me and my siblings together in our family room, to discuss what was going on with my dad... which certainly scared me more than ever because I didn't know how I was going to take this news (let alone trying with all of my might and strength to stay positive and yet the teardrops of worry and fear, confusion and uncertainty came along without realizing just what was going to happen here at this very moment. I was in a state of emotional turmoil with having no question in my head as to why this needed to happen to my dad and not having ever had a clue about it whatsoever literally torn me up inside more than most people would think someone like myself could react to something like this. Shortly after we had everybody together and listen to my mom explain to us what was going on, but it seriously made me feel as though things could not have gone anymore difficult than finding out about my dad needing to have Emergency Quadruple Bypass Open Heart Surgery in order to make sure those issues he'd been experiencing for awhile would be taken care of and everything would be okay after several months/weeks/days ahead. They also mentioned to us that they were going to be taking arteries from his arm, leg and chest in order to heal the problems that were taking place for the last little while, which I will admit was quite a shock to me considering that I never would have expected something like that to happen to my dad, but you get the picture here?? 



It was definitely one of the most challenging experiences in my life that I never saw coming at this time, but I didn't know what to think or say with having expected tears rolling down my face and keeping it together as much as I could possible regardless of whatever was to come from this. It was extremely tough on me to see my father with being on the patient side of things instead of the administrative which I have known him to be a part for about as long as I can remember...but this was SO different from anything that I had ever known to have happen to him before. It was really emotionally heart wrenching for me to walk inside of that hospital & seeing them in their beds, hooked up to these medical beeping noisy machines and trying to recover from whatever it was they were going through at the time... LITERALLY just got me so worried whether as to know just the adventures that were going to lay ahead for me from this point on. But then again, I could not picture myself just going up to people and telling them about it without having the emotions of sadness, worrisome, completely unknowing the outcome of everything and not quite sure if this would be much like anything that I could see myself handling again in the distant future. To be honest with you about all of this, I literally would not have been able to imagine watching my dad and the cardiologist sitting there in the same room and listening to him tell my dad that if it had been his main artery... they simply just said he would've known that's what it was but he wouldn't have been sitting there with him talking about it- I would be telling you a completely different story here right now.

August 26th, 2017 - Sleepless Night/Long Day

Earlier the next morning all of my siblings and I woke up around 7AM because neither one of us was able to get any sleep without thinking about my dad and just what was going to be happening over the next four and a half hours that he would be in surgery. My mom had woken up around 6AM to drive down to the hospital and wishing my dad luck with his operation, but it was not until I woke up not knowing the exact outcome of just everything that I knew was going to leave all of us wondering what to do next.


Both of my other siblings were not as emotional about all of this for reasons that I would never be able to come up with and yet it struck me the hardest to even begin to fathom of my dad having an operation as big as this one. To me on a personal level, it seriously felt like an eternity before we would know anything more about how things went and keeping us updated on what was going to happen from that point on, but who was counting down the hours and minutes????

Later that morning, Cassidy and I were picked up by our neighbor/family friend to head over to this little Ward Relief Society activity but it was completely if not too obvious that everyone there knew what had been going on and I didn't feel a need to mention anything unless I was asked about it by someone. Both of us had a wonderful time with our neighbors and getting to enjoy some fun activities while all of this was going on and trying to keep myself together was not getting any much easier if you can believe it!!! I also forgot to mention that it was my mom's birthday that weekend when we had originally planned to attend the first BYU home football game and then ending up canceling it altogether because of what my dad needed to have taken care of.. which definitely seemed much more of an importance than just going to a sporting event.

Not to even mention that me and my siblings didn't feel the need or energy to sing Happy Birthday to my mom because we were all so stressed out & worried with the situation that was going on with my dad. I really felt like it could have turned out to be a much happier weekend to remember if this was not how things were supposed to be, but I have to believe that Heavenly Father knew what was going on with us and that everything would be okay in the end regardless of anything else that could have happened. I seriously felt like what could have been just a weekend to remember was a completely different experience than I would have least expected.. but having said that, our wonderful and incredible neighbor/close family friend of ours who was also at the Ward Relief Society activity with us drove me and my twin sister Cassidy to buy a little birthday present for my mom, our entire day would have not been nearly as much fun to say the least.

Sunday Morning/Afternoon (August 27th) - Lots of Nerves/Meltdowns/Family Time

My mom, twin sister and I had originally anticipated that we would only attend our ward's sacrament meeting without going to other classes or anything like that. Once we arrived there and got inside, after having sat in the back so we could leave whenever we needed to for anything-- but it literally made me feel like since I'm in the primary that I needed to stick around for class. Within a few minutes of being there, I went into my primary class where I went on explaining this situation to my kids and trying to keep myself very much together as I could without freaking them out in anyway with this news. It was difficult for me to sit there and not have the slightest bit of an idea that things had continued to be the way they ended up being like. Shortly after that was over, I went out to meet my mom and twin sister to go visit with Dad just because we had not seen him since the surgery which I was kind of scared to see him within less than twenty four hours prior to his operation. He looked really good after having eaten a piece of chicken, broccoli and a roll for lunch before we arrived to go visit him in the cardiac ICU for a short period of time before they moved him into where he was going to be staying for the remainder of this hospital visit. It was still extremely difficult for me to not get emotional looking around at the stuff to keep my dad stable and feeling better literally in that moment pierced my heart in a way that I'd never felt before. I couldn't help myself but feel the overwhelming sense of peace that I knew was going to be there as soon as things would get easier from there. 




Late Night Together

It was truly a much needed small getaway for me and my twin sister to spend quality time with our aunt and uncle at their new house. My mom drove us all over there and walked inside with us to visit them for a little bit as well as update them on how things were going with my dad at the hospital. Shortly after that, We got to go on a walk with my aunt and uncle around their beautiful neighborhood and getting to see where their neighbors live, which by the way was really incredible if you ask me!!! It was literally nice to have some time out of our house and not just having much to do other than waiting for time to pass till my mom got back to get us, but it was truly so sweet of them to invite us over and spend a couple of hours together. It doesn't necessarily happen all too often for us just because with every thing else that we have going on in life there is never any time to see family and hangout together as much as we would like to before it's too late, if that makes the least bit of sense at all???? We also got to watch one of our most favorite movies ever Napoleon Dynamite and if you ask me and getting to laugh out loud did not seem like the best thing to do when you are watching a movie with other people in the room, but I don't know if our aunt and uncle enjoyed the film because both of us were so loud!! We also learned a brand new game that we had never played before called Spot It! which is basically like you have up to six cards down or ya know whatever with various pictures of "Lady Bugs, Flowers, Snow Flakes, Apples, Trees, Bugs, etc and well you pretty much get the point here right??? We just simply had to match them up with the same exact thing on the cards and you had to try to get as many as we could before time ran out and it was seriously one of the funnest things ever!!!! I am grateful for extended family members who are not only a part of my life but continue to always reach out whenever we need much of anything at some given moment but I love them so much for having us over to spend a few hours with them. 

Paradise Vacation

In the fall of 2013, My family planned a trip to Hawaii for six days and it was truly the best vacation we ever had. It was super exciting for me and my siblings to finally have the chance of going to this island for the very first time!!! I loved exploring around the incredibly amazing beach resort called Ko Olina and being able to see out to all of those four lagoons was just spectacular. I would literally do anything in this world to return back there and vacation for just even a few days let alone maybe even a week if I got lucky!!!

Highlights Included:

Polynesian Cultural Center/Show/Checking out all of the many different islands like: Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, which were super cool and getting to learn things about each of them was pretty incredible!!! 

Dole Pineapple Plantation Tour/Pineapple Ice Cream/Pearl Diving from an oyster (Hopefully, when I get to go back in the future I can do it again and bring the treasure home with me!!!)

Visiting the North Shore and trying out the Shaved Ice/Watching the surfers out on the ocean was truly a sight to see!!!! :)

Walking around the Laie, Hawaii Temple Grounds/Visitor's Center

SWAT Meet Outdoor Flea Market (So many Hawaiian treasures to look at and buy if you want to!!)

Duke's Waikiki Restaurant was out of this world phenomenal and just simply delicious!! Not to mention that their Hula Pie is what they are known for. 

Snorkeling was definitely one of the many new things that I was able to try on this trip, but never did get to a point of ever being very good at breathing under salt water for long periods of time. Sadly, It was obviously my fault for not having seen all of those beautiful fish swimming in the ocean. There's certainly always next time whenever we get a chance to visit again and check out some more stuff on the different islands. I especially would have loved to climbed Diamond Head which is basically this very old Hawaiian Volcano from what I've heard is really cool, and it would be so much fun to do all of that next time around for sure!!!