Home Sweet Home

I heard a quote the other day, that I absolutely love, but can't remember verbatim. It's something to the effect of "True friendship is not about being inseparable, it's having miles between you, but nothing changes." This quote very much applies to my recent visit home. One of my favorite things I got to do this last weekend was see my best friend from high school, Kristy --who is the cutest pregnant person ever! I haven't seen her for years, but it was like nothing had changed in the time we spent chatting. That is true friendship --it was really like we had both been in Logan all these years and going to lunch every weekend instead of being several states apart. I love that!

I also got to see the mountains again --I forgot how much I love them, and I find myself missing them already! I got a little obsessive on the way home and took about 30 pictures of them trying to capture as much as I could so that I would have plenty to look at when I got back here. It was so gorgeous! It was warm enough that the snow was starting to melt, so the white covered mountains were all shiny and glittery ...so pretty!

Let me back up a little bit ...it was so cool flying out of Seattle! It is amazing how used you get to the cloud cover and the dim sunlight. When you take off from Sea-Tac you fly through the clouds and it's like someone literally flipped a light switch on in the airplane. All of a sudden there is undiluted sunlight streaming through the windows, and when you look out the window there is nothing but pure blue sky! It was incredible ...to be looking down at the clouds with the top of Mt. Rainier peeking through the top. I love to fly! It never gets old, and now matter how many times I've done it, I still just can't help but grin when you feel the engines roar as you take off --it's the best feeling ever!

Anyway, back to home. My brother Cody plays baseball with Utah State, and they had a tournament in Smithfield this weekend, and it was awesome to be able to soak up all the sunshine while watching the Aggies play ball! I have the cutest brother ever! I also caught the opening day of the Bees --the AAA team of the LA Angels. It was a little different not having Jeff there, but it was a lot of fun to watch anyway. I love baseball! And it was good to catch up with LaDawn. I was so cold by the time the game was over that I couldn't feel my legs, but it was totally worth it!

Apart from all the baseball and sunshine, I had an incredible time just being with my family and friends. It never really gets any easier to leave. I'm always fine when I get back home, but the actual leaving is always hard. One more thought before I leave you with a few more random pics from my visit home, it was a good day of church on Sunday, and I had a renewed appreciation for the fact that I am a daughter of my heavenly father who loves me. There were two 8 yr old girls who had been baptized, and I thought a lot about how it doesn't seem like all that long ago that I was that little worrying about my poofy white dress, holding my daddy's hand as we walked into the church with the baptismal font. Things seemed so simple then. Things really are still that simple now, we just let ourselves complicate them. I felt so strongly as I watch the two girls in sacrament meeting that my heavenly father loves me just as much today as he did the day that I was baptized. Even with all my imperfections and mistakes. What a true miracle the Atonement is. I am so very grateful for the testimony and knowledge that I have. There are some things that I know, some that I believe, some that I'm working on, and some that I have up on a shelf for when I tackle some of the others. I have been so very blessed with the absolute best family and friends, and I am so grateful for that. I'll leave you with a few random pics of some of them from my most recent trip home.

Heidi, Taylor, and Mom at Cody's first game on Saturday

Sarah, Kristin, Jill and me at the cookout --thanks mom!

Cody and Me

Me and Kristin coloring :)

My cute Mom

My cute Dad