Happy Halloween!

This October, in addition to our outrage over politics and the election, Jake and I have done some fun things. We went down to Salt Lake a few weeks ago to go to the Body Worlds exhibit, which was really interesting. We went to a park and through some Salt Lake neighborhoods which give some amazing views.


Last week we carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening which was fun. Thank goodness for the pumpkin carving kit to make up for my creative inability in that area.

Last night for FHE we went to the Pumpkin Walk in North Logan where a bunch of people had put together displays using pumpkins and squash. It was pretty cool. On Friday we'll see if we get any trick-or-treaters- I don't think we'll have any in our apartment complex, but I may be wrong. Other than that, we don't have any big plans for Friday. School is getting super busy right now so we may just try to catch up on that.


Oh! And my grand announcement! I finally figured out my life. I am going to finish my Spanish major and do a Latin American Studies minor. I should be able to graduate next December- yay!!! I basically sat down to figure out how I can be finished with school fastest and that was the conclusion. Now I just have to talk to the counselor...if only she will respond to my email. Anyway, I'm excited. I just want to graduate and then decide what I want to do from there.



I guess if that doesn't work, I can always become a wild creature. (But only if Jake is Yoda.)

Elder Bednar - The Tyranny of Tolerance

Associations

I think it is so interesting that so many people claim that associations are not important. Now, if I am applying for a job, my associations are important, I need recommendations, past experience and all of those things matter.
If you want a future career in law enforcement, etc, associations matter. In fact, you would need to pass an FBI test for many of those careers.
Associations matter in our families. It matters in a marriage, for example. If one spouse associates with friends who encourages him/her to break their marital vows or make bad decisions, it will affect that person, their spouse, children, and extended family.
In a world where so many things you do can be posted on the internet and become knowledge to so many, choice of friends and associations matter.
From a religious perspective, associations always matter. In fact, anyone who has ever read the Bible can see that it does matter and that associating with certain people can drag you down also. We all know what happened with Lot's wife, who turned back to associate with the people of the city whom she could not fully leave.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I know that associations matter. The more I allow bad associations, the easier I will fall into temptation. Not to mention specific interviews where there is a specific question on associations.
With all of these thoughts it makes me wonder how Barrack Obama and his supporters can claim that his associations with Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and others don't matter. Bill Ayers is a friend of Obama who is an admitted terrorist and is not sorry for what he has done. Do you honestly think that the FBI would let you work for them if you had that kind of close association? Yet so many seem to think that it will be ok for him to be President of the United States when one of his close associates (which he has never explained) stomps on the American flag and hates America? Or his church pastor who continually claims that America is a horrible place and claims that it is the US of KKKA? Does it really not make a difference in someone's life when one sits in a church for 20 years hearing that America is an evil place, that whites are horrible, suppressive people and that the government created the HIV virus to kill African Americans? And yet we dismiss it so easily when Obama says "He's not the man I knew". Is it really too high an expectation to expect someone who might possibly be the president of the greatest country on earth to love this country? Or to stand up for it? Please, let's not go through 4 years of apologizing for America, for the values we stand for and the freedom we represent. Associations matter in life and should matter to him.
I sincerely hope this is not offensive to anyone, I am simply stating my thoughts on the subject.

milestones

There are so many milestones that we have in life- big and small. On Saturday we had a small one (which Jake was kind enough to take pictures of since I wasn't there). Our truck hit 100,000 miles. Now many of you may not think it's a big deal, but I think it's a fun little thing to celebrate, especially when you know it's a Toyota so it will last another 100,000. I remember celebrating the same thing on my old Toyota Camry in high school. I must admit, I am a little biased towards Toyota, but at least I am honest enough to admit it. :)


Another interesting thing I have been thinking about lately- ever since the BYU vs USU game. It was so interesting to me that those from USU who didn't like the fact that we were BYU fans called us names and used foul language.(USU has the worst fans in the WAC) Now, I know many may think I am crazy for making this connection, but I think it was so sad. I asked one of them: Is that what you do in life? Call someone names and insult them if you disagree with them?
It makes me think of everything that is going on in the political world right now- liberals keep coming up with all these names for conservatives just because they have a different viewpoint- racist, fear-monger, homophobic, etc. It is so interesting to me that all these adults do something that is so immature instead of having a conversation about differing viewpoints. Perhaps it starts with something simple like sports fans....
It also makes me want to improve my communication so that I never catch myself doing something so irrational and immature, but just respectfully disagree with others.

Fall

So fall is officially here, although my flowers are still blooming which makes me happy. Last weekend was General Conference, it was so good. And the best part - A TEMPLE IN PHILLY!!! Our mission worked so hard at that. Every goal we had, every person who was baptized, every lesson we taught was toward that goal- we wanted a temple there so bad. We were so excited, we totally yelled when it was announced. Jake and I are going back once it's built. We had a get-together with some missionaries on Sat night and it was so fun to just feel everyone's excitement over the announcement.
General Conference was so good. I always love Conference weekend because it is so relaxing, refreshing and full of the spirit. This General Conference I came away with the main goal of being more positive. It has worked so far this week, but I really need to improve on that. I just had such an overwhelming feeling of happiness and love on Sunday while Jake and I were driving back up to Logan. It was interesting how a common theme was that we all go through hard times. But it made me realize that angels are there to watch over us and that God knows me and my life. I also am trying to be more grateful for everything I have.
School is crazy busy right now, so much is going on. It is getting colder here in Logan- the wind blows like crazy on campus because it is at the mouth of the canyon and it feels 10 degrees colder than at our apartment just a few blocks away.
Lately I have been working on a paper for one of my classes on political biases in our Universities. The research and everything that I have found is very interesting. I watched a documentary that I have been wanting to see for a long time- Indoctrinate U. It is excellent and really points out some of the crazy things that are being taught. This is one of the reasons why I want to be a teacher- to teach the subject and the truth and nothing else. It really has made Jake and I think about what our educational system will be like when we have children. Kind of scary.
We are also in an Institute class right now that is excellent. It is on the book The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball. Our teacher is really good and the chapter from last week has really made both of us think a lot. It is exactly what was confirmed in General Conference- I need to have positive thoughts. The chapter was As a Man Thinketh. Our thoughts have such powerful affects on our lives- we choose what we think about, we choose what tempts us and we choose our future. So interesting- we have it tonight which is something to look forward to.
Last Friday night was the BYU vs. USU football game up here in Logan. It was fun to have Brent and Christa, Scott, Ashleigh and Skye up here. We all wore our Quest t-shirts and got yelled at by the USU fans for being in the student section. It wasn't a blow out as we expected, but BYU won and we still have our 15 game winning streak. Afterward we played some wii and Ash learned how to throw a football.
We went down to Salt Lake for Conference weekend- it was Karma's birthday (Jake's mom) and we got to see family and friends which was fun. Life is good! We are so blessed and continue to move forward. We love you all!