Top 10

These are the top 10 reasons I am SO excited for summer.

10. being able to wear shorts and tank tops

9. getting TAN

8. going camping with a blue moon or two ;)

7. the blackleys cabin

6. driving with the windows down

5. seven peaks

4. RODEOS/truck pulls/demolition derbies (derbys?)

3. stargazing in the back of a truck

2. bonfires

1. spanish fork reservoir

I have a feeling this summer will be the best one yet. Only a few more months...

Missionaries

I never realized how much I missed getting letters and emails from my dear missionaries until today. For Christmas, my grandma gave me an adorable box, for the purpose of storing letters. I finally pulled it out today, gathered up all my letters, and began reading. I've misplaced a few, which I'm pretty sad about. But the ones I did manage to find made me laugh and cry. I'm not the best at writing back, and that's most likely the reason I haven't recieved a letter or email in a few months. And I'm going to change that.

Somehow those letters provide inspiration, and comfort. One of the missionaries I've written I have never even met, he was my cousin's first mission companion, Elder Laimani Fa'amausili. But his letters were so funny, so in depth, so cheerful, that I can't help but think that I should track down his new mission address. I read a few letters from Elder Jeff Johnson, and those are the ones that made me cry. He is so sincere in his love for the work that he is doing. He also said some personal things that definitely made me think.

So I now have a new goal - by the end of the month, I hope to have written every single missionary a LETTER. Not an email, but LETTER. I think those are more personal ;)

Less than a year till three of those missionaries come home. September, October, and November can't come soon enough.

Facebook

Now, I understand that we all have and are entitled to our own opinions. But is Facebook really the correct forum to voice them? To personally ATTACK a church for it's history? An acquaintance of mine recently posted a rather harsh status update, attacking the LDS church, saying some things about it that are actually pretty disgusting. That Emma Smith caught Joseph sleeping with another woman, and THATS when he came up with the story about a revelation that made it ok to have more than one wife. While I'm not really an active member of the LDS church anymore, I think it's pretty rude and immature to say something like that, especially with no facts/evidence to back it up.

So here's a question for you all - what do you think about Facebook being used to argue and get a point across?

DRF:)

This one is dedicated to Darren Rey Faber. :)

I don't write much on here... mostly because I feel I have nothing of importance to say or write about. And I wish I knew how to change that. Some days I feel like I am doing NOTHING with my life, and it kills me. I don't know how to make things different. Finding a job is hard, school costs money, and love takes time. At least I'm making progress with one of those ;)

These last few months, I've realized that life is harder than I ever could have imagined. I lost my beautiful Bailey Sue two weeks ago. I miss coming home, and hearing her collar jingle when I walked through the door. My house is so empty without her. I've never had to deal with a loss quite like that and I never want to have to go through it again, although I know loss is inevitable.

But on the opposite end of the spectrum, I've found somebody that makes me feel as beautiful as ever. Who knows where it'll go, but for the moment,

I'm content.

Another year gone??

I honestly can't believe tomorrow is New Years Eve. Whaaattt? 2009 has definitely been a challenging year and I have high hopes that 2010 will be better. Big changes are in store for me and I couldn't be more excited. I've decided to do a review of 2009... haha here goes :)

In 2009 I...

rang in the new year with the best friends possible.

learned that people aren't always who you thought they were.

realized that in july of 2010 i will have been alive for 2 decades... I feel old.

found out what is really important.

learned that my mom will always be there for me no matter how bad i mess up.

found out that anxiety really really sucks.

went from blonde to brunette... SO not me ;) blonde here i come!

fell in love, fell out of love... and will always have a place for B.C. in my heart.

met someone new, made a new best friend, and it turned into something more...

moved to virginia, realized it wasn't the best idea, and moved back to happy valley. :)

made some of the biggest decisions of my life, and still have one big one to make.

said goodbye to some of the most amazing people i know for 2 years. can't wait for 2011.

learned i have to rely on my OWN faith, not the faith of others.

and most of all...

had some of the best times of my life. Thank you to everyone in my life, you've made it wonderful so far. :)

Here's to 2010, and the adventures it will bring :)

Changes...

It's been a while since I have blogged, and I have to say, I have changed quite a bit. For those of you who don't know, I recently moved back from a brief stint in Harrisonburg, VA. I moved there to be with my dad but things didn't work out, and I decided the best thing was to come back.

As of right now, I am still discovering who I am, what I want to do. I always thought I knew what I would do with my life but the past 6 months have changed that. Hell, I'm only 19. I've got time to figure things out. I've had some experiences that have changed my view of not only of myself, but life. I am trying to find out for MYSELF what I believe in, what's real. Nothing in my life is constant but one thing - God. I have absolute faith that God IS there, He always will be. And that gives me hope that things will turn around, that soon I will be truly happy again. :)

I've made some mistakes simply because I feel I have to learn from my OWN mistakes, not those of others. I will not go into detail. All I can say is despite the hardships, I have tremendous hope for my future. I am lucky to have a mother who supports me in everything I do, who will always love me no matter how big the mistake. These past few months she has been my crutch. I love you, mommy :)

I definitely think I will start writing on here more. So until next time...

xo.

Dear spring, I love you. Love, Megan.

One day

Every once in a while a random though or memory will pop into my head. This particular memory was in about 10th grade, when Pretzel and I decided she would plan my wedding. I remember little about the actual wedding, but I do remember that she was incredibly insistent on having Kirby Heyborne sing. He's quite dashing in the Single's 2nd ward. (If you haven't seen it, watch it. There are so many Provo and/or Utah cliches that are guaranteed to make you laugh!)

So on the subject of weddings, I decided to research my future wedding gown. I came across the most beautiful website. They have such unique dresses, and compared to other modest wedding gown vendors, they are quite inexpensive. Then I came upon it. THE dress.

I WILL wear this dress on my wedding day. Or something similar to it.

I can't wait for the day when I am sitting across from the love of my life in the Celestial Room knowing we are about to be married for time & all eternity. Yet another reason why I am so grateful for the church... It gives me great comfort knowing that once this mortal life ends, I will still be with my eternal companion. Forever.

Have you ever tried to comprehend how long forever really is? It gives me a headache. I've decided to give up trying to understand and find out myself just how long it is :)

LDS Missions

Lately I've been thinking about the many friends I have that are currently serving missions for the LDS Church and how funny it is that the missions they are called to fit them perfectly.

My cousin, David, is currently in Samoa. I honestly could not think of a better place for him. He loves the culture, the people, the language.

Elder Jeff Johnson is serving in the Rio de Janiero, Brazil mission. Like David, Brazil could not fit him more perfectly.

Boyfriend was just called to serve in the Chile Concepcion mission this last Friday. I am so incredibly lucky to have him. ;)

I think it's amazing how the leaders of the church are able to communicate with the Lord and place them in a location where they will be able to reach their full potential.

Oh how grateful I am for the Church :)

so it's been a while

and thanksgiving was just last thursday, so i thought i might write about things i'm grateful for :)

*my mother
*my FAMILY
*my Heavenly Father
*my calling as a Sunbeams teacher
*the ability to laugh
*white cheddar cheez-its
*boys ;)
*best friends
*having a warm, cozy house to come home to every day
*my patriarchal blessing
*knowing i am a daughter of God
*having the Gospel in my life
*a sister who makes me laugh
*the opportunities i have to gain an education
*the fact that i live in America
*having enough food to eat every day
*my abilities to see, hear, feel, smell and taste
*that i am in good health
*living in this day and age no matter how corrupted it may be
*love

i'm tired so may or may not continue this list tomorrow. remember to give thanks for all you have!

xo

hm.

all i can say about the election is... may the Lord bless our country and keep us safe. although i honestly feel like mccain was the better choice for president, i just hope and pray that we'll pull out of these hard times! good luck, president obama :)

xo

uuupdate!

so this last week has been a very long and stressful one. there are quite a few miraculous things that have happened. on wednesday or thursday night i was up very late, when all of a sudden i got this awful feeling that something bad was going to happen. i was crying and hyperventilating for absolutely no reason. it was so bad i had to sleep in my mom's room. i still couldn't shake the feeling, and i was paranoid about my sister going to vegas with the marching band for fear that something would happen to her.

on saturday night, i went to a byu vs. utah hockey game with my friend doug (i'll tell the story of that later). afterwards we went and played at wasatch elementary, when i got a missed call and a text from my mom telling me to call her right away. it was then i realized maybe this is why i had that bad feeling - my grandma (who lives with us) had passed out and my mom found her laying face down on her floor.

now here's the miraculous part - my great-aunt nola told us this story the next day at church - she had called our house for absolutely no reason, just feeling like maybe she should. if the phone rings long enough, it goes to the answering machine. but this time, it kept ringing and ringing and never went to the machine. my mom finally realized my grandma wasn't going to answer, so she went upstairs to see where she was. that's when she found her on the ground.

another odd thing is that my mom and i were supposed to go to vegas to take a little vacation and watch the marching band but at the last minute decided not to go. if we hadn't been there, it could have been MUCH worse. after my mom pointed these things out to me, i couldn't help but get goosebumps and wonder if maybe all of this happened for a reason. i don't know if it was a coincidence, but i have to thank the Lord for keeping my grandma safe. she's resting comfortably in the hospital now, please keep her in your prayers :)

xo

tomorrow is my

very first day as a primary teacher! i get the opportunity to teach the sunbeams, and i couldn't be more excited! although i am scared, i am trying my best to put together a lesson that will teach them about being a good example, and following in Christ's footsteps! my 4-year-olds are the cutest kids ever, and i just hope that they'll like the lesson :) as i'm writing this, my adorable dog bailey, is snoring peacefully on the floor beside me... she usually does that when i'm on the computer!

xo

family pictures

about 3 weeks ago, before david left for his mission, we went to fotogenix to get family pictures done! here are some of the gorgeous pictures!

xo

i recently came across

a blog, called 'twigs & honey'. it's a woman named myra who makes gorgeous headbands and other wedding pieces. her blog is so cute and quirky, i love it! if any of you are looking for something for a wedding, go to THIS website!

so this morning i got a phone call at 5:30 am... since nick has work now he calls me every morning before work even if i'm asleep. he said he and his parents might be coming out for thanksgiving! i am SO excited! it's been six VERY long months since i've seen him and i'm about bursting with excitement right now!

oh and tomorrow is thursday. which means... THE OFFICE! :)

xo

...

so life has been boring these last few days... such is life. nothing too exciting has happened. brennley and shayla came over on tuesday, and brenn has discovered the kitchen. if i set her down for one second, she'll crawl to the kitchen to try and get some of bailey's dog food. she's so cute! :)

last night i went to an old friends house for a party to watch a new episode of "the office". i'm five seasons late, but i'm now addicted. michael and dwight's stupidity just makes me giggle! afterwards we played balderdash which is a hilarious game, and catch phrase!

halfway through the party i recieved some joyous news - the cougs LOST to TCU! (gasp) i was just as surprised as anyone, but it definitely made my night! now lets just hope utah can step it up and take TCU down! i'm excited because chris and i got tickets to the game! we're going to be sitting with the MUSS, and even more exciting - it's going to be a blackout! i've seen them before and they are awesome! so i'm excited to participate!

also, elder david gage has been having a wonderful time on his mission, even if he is still in the mtc! :) if any of you know him and read this and want to know what's going on, click HERE for the Gage Family blog!

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so after my frazzled brain couldn't remember where i had put my jacket last winter, i was forced to realize it was gone forever. so this last week, i got two new GORGEOUS coats! the first is a knee length black, wool coat that i'll be able to wear for years!


















the other is a ski/snowboarding jacket.

i'm just greatful my mother has an eye for good sales ;)

xo

what an eventful week!

so many things have happened since my last post!

first of all, my cousin david (who happens to be one of my best friends) left for the provo mtc this morning! i was able to see the pictures his family took and i got to see his name tag - i couldn't read it for the life of me! good thing i don't have to learn samoan!

also, this past weekend was general conference and i had the opportunity to go to the sunday afternoon session. i'd never been, so i was incredibly excited! the talks were amazing, i especially enjoyed elder russell m. nelson's talk. i found it funny he compared marriage to shopping ;) here are some pictures from sunday!



























this is our group in the conference center - asia, jess, me, taylor and brianna.













i was so happy to have gotten a picture of the seventy and most of the twelve. i wasn't able to get a picture of the first presidency because you weren't allowed to take pictures once they came in.













twenty one THOUSAND people were in this building - it was absolutely beautiful!

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today shayla and brennley came over for piano lessons! i love it when they come because i get to watch brenn during the lesson. today we went out and played in the grass and i got some adorable shots of her!

































































she's slowly being more vocal, and today she kept trying to say "bailey", which is our dogs name. she loves to use the sign for "dog" while whispering "bay" which is her way of saying bailey.

xo

the best first two dates

i've ever had! i recently met a guy named chris strebel and he asked me out on a date. he ended up being an hour late since apparently i give horrible directions! we had planned to go to a movie night up at the U, but were way too late to go to it, so we decided to take a drive up to park city. about two miles up the canyon, we blew a tire and had to pull into bridal veil falls to change it. it was dark by then, so park city was a no go! we ended up getting wendy's and having a picnic in front of the provo temple. apparently it went well because he asked me on a second date the next day!

the next day, he picked me up around three. we went to his house in sandy for a bit to pick up some stuff, and ended up looking at his artwork (he's an AMAZING artist) and talking to his dad for about an hour. afterwards we ran to his school (the art institute of SLC) to scan in something. he showed me all of his work on the computer, which again, is amazing!! we then headed up to park city for the night. we walked around, laughed a ton, and made fun of a lot of things in antique shops. after about 2 hours, we went to dinner at the olive garden back in SLC and ended up going to temple square. it was empty, so we found a bench and talked for an hour and a half. he then showed me gravity hill (weirdest thing ever!) and we wandered the salt lake cemetary trying to find president hinckley's grave. after no luck, we headed back to the car but discovered we had no idea where we were parked. we looked for a half hour before we found it. theeeen we finally headed home. such an exhausting day, but i had the best time!



so here's some advice. if you want a fun date, wing it! have ideas, but don't plan! you never know whats gonna happen :)

today is

family picture day! my cousin david is leaving for the samoa, apia mission next wednesday so we're having a few last pictures together before he leaves. i'll post some up later :)

good luck, elder gage!


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and tonight is the timpview high school homecoming football game, and it'll be my first game as an ALUMNI! gosh, i feel old!!

look up

and you'll see that adorable little kiwi clock. i started giggling when i found it! not only because its hilarious, but because i love kiwi. more than... anything.