Temple + family + three day weekend = happy Hannah

Whoever invented the 3-day weekend really should get a Nobel prize.  I had such. a stressful. week. before this perfectly-timed long weekend.  I'm starting to think my professors really get a kick out of planning all their major assignments to fall within the same weeks during the semester.  How rude of them.  After class on Friday, nothing sounded better to me than spending three days with my amazing Vegas fam.  Yep, it was down to Sin City for President's Day weekend and my oh my it was soooo relaxing.  Perfect in every way.  The main event was my cousin Danica receiving her temple endowment; so exciting!!  I think it was just last week that we were kids playing Barbies down in my grandparents' basement.  And now she's all garment-afied and whatnot.  My gosh.  She is just the greatest example to me and I was so happy to be with her and the family on that amazing day!

This is Sarah.
Yep. She's a keeper [:

       Sarah, my cousin Nate's fiancé, and I did baptisms while everyone else went through the temple with Dani.  I have to say we both were pretty jealous, but baptisms are always just grand.  Being hit on by the extremely cute conformation & baptizing guys didn't hurt either haha.  But shhh.  No flirting in the temple! [:

But all joking aside, being in the temple was the perfect remedy for a frazzled college student like me.  Nothing is more peaceful and assuring than the Spirit I feel there.  It was just plain wonderful.  Sarah and I finished about two hours before Dani's session got out, so we walked around the grounds and talked about how CRAZY it was that she would be walking out of those same doors, sealed for time and all eternity in just over two months.  I love her and can't wait for her to be a part of our family! It was so peaceful walking the grounds and taking pictures. The Las Vegas temple is absolutely beautiful, especially against the blue Nevada sky we got that day. A pretty easy subject, I have to say!

After Dani's endowment

   

Just look at those lovebirds [:

       The purpose of the rest of the weekend was to just relax and I had no problem with that whatsoever.  We went hot tubbing at the insanely fancy JW Marriott hotel downtown, vegged out on the sofa, me with my Humanities textbook and Sarah and Dani with bridal magazines (I gladly swapped my textbook for a magazine on more than one occasion; what girl wouldn't take the opportunity to drool over those divine wedding dresses and reception plans?!), ate some amazingly delicious home-cooking, stayed up late playing Word On The Street and busted our lungs laughing as we tried to think fast and spell even faster at one o'clock in the morning (It has been decided by us that 'vertical' is clearly an appropriate answer for "A word one would use when giving directions to someone;" I'm most definitely going to incorporate that into my reply next time someone asks me for directions on campus [: ), and just soaked up that family-ness!

 Check out my auto-detailing skills.

       My Grandma and Grandpa Conger had driven down from Seattle for the weekend as well, and I had such a fun time catching up with them.  Along with school, school, and more school, we actually got onto the topic of family history and I found out some pretty amazing things about my ancestors.  And I have decided I need to take road trip to Rexburg! I've always known about the John W. Hart building on BYU Idaho campus being named after my great-great-grandfather, but I never knew that he actually was part of the education board that saved Ricks College from going under during the Great Depression by proposing that students who couldn't pay tuition could work off the payments by doing service and housework for the staff, and that he was also the president of the Rigby stake for 25 years.

I kinda fell in love with some rich
dude's Lotus Elise at the Marriott.
I was fully prepared to beg if he
 came outside! 

I never knew that my Great Grandpa Gene taught accounting at that school.  I never knew that he and Grandma Katheryn (my middle namesake! [: ) had donated generous amounts of money to the school that would become BYU Idaho and that there's currently a scholarship awarded to multiple students each year in their name.  I never knew that the house my Great Grandma Katheryn lived in still stands in Rigby, and that the house my own grandpa grew up in is still alive and well in Rexburg, too.
       Talking about these people, my family members, who had done such amazing things made me so proud.  Not in a superior kind of way, but in that I am so thankful that they were so unselfish and generous to other people.  It makes me want to be better when I know I have that kind of background.  I'm quite inspired!  Family is such an amazing thing.  This summer I am most definitely road trippin to Idaho to find my family's old stompin grounds over there.
       All too soon the weekend was over and Monday night came around.  Time to head back to real life. After lots of hugs and some last minute pictures, we were on our way to Provo with a gorgeous Nevada sunset behind us.  I took advantage of the five-hour drive to catch up on the studying I put off.  The Iliad?  Piece o' cake.  A big fatty one that weighs ten pounds and puts you to sleep before you can say "Agamemnon." Oy.  But regardless of that, this 3-day weekend was absolutely perfect.  Family, temple, what more could a girl ask for?  Only eight weeks left till summer and the time when I finally get to be with the five people who I miss so so SO MUCH. [: It's gonna blow by in no time!

That was really long. I apologize. It was a good weekend.

A random smidgen of happy

I like studying here. I like the sky. I like BYU.
This past week? Not so enjoyable. But three days of Vegas, family, and
some warm, sunny r&r are all in the near future. Life's good.

That is all. 

Confession. Plus some random lovin.

       Soo ya know how awhile ago I said Friday was my favorite...  Yeah.  I lied.  It's most definitely Sunday.  The reason?  No idea.  Just that feeling.  The Sabbath is the best day of the week because of the way it feels.  Which makes me think... doesn't that mean I could technically make ALL days feel that way?  Sure I could.  But I don't want to.  Then Sunday wouldn't be as special.  Don't get me wrong, of course I'm going to try to incorporate more Sunday-like activities into my week days to get this feeling more often, but the full blown Sunday effect is only reserved for Sunday.  And I like it that way.  I love Sunday.  And church. And singing hymns and taking the sacrament and learning about my Savior and the scriptures.  I love hearing my friends give amazing talks and seeing my guy friends lookin' all sharp as they bless & pass the sacrament so reverently.  I love dressing in my Sunday best and especially love having the chance to play the piano at a time of day that isn't completely ludicrous.  I love sitting and laughing with friends in the Cannon at dinner.  I love it all.  And all these things happen to fall on one day.  Fancy that!
       Subject change.  In Book of Mormon class this past week, our reading assignment included 2nd Nephi 11, the chapter where Nephi writes what things his soul "delighteth" in.  Less archaically speaking - he tells us what makes him happiest.  He mentions how much he loves the words of Isaiah (can't say I agree, but I'm slowly learning how to understand that guy!), the grace and mercy of the Lord, and missionary work.  It's so personal and so beautiful.  I love reading the Book of Mormon - it's so amazing that something written so long ago can still have such an effect today.  The class discussion got me thinking about what my own soul "delights in!"  Soo guess what. Shuhbam. List time, baby.

• My soul delights in music and the peace it brings to me no matter what's on my mind or what happened during the day. 
• My soul delights in running and hiking and climbing and having the blessing of a healthy body!  And in showing my gratitude to Heavenly Father for it by having high standards when it comes to what I put in it and what I wear. 
• My soul most definitely delights in Jimmer. Sorry, I had to...
• My soul delights in reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon and feeling the teachings of God and Jesus Christ give me comfort and strength. 
• My soul delights in friends who each have their own unique personalities and wonderful talents that strengthen me and make me so grateful to know them.
• My soul delights in reading and learning and expanding my mind, my opinions, and perspective.
• My soul mega-delights in mountains.  And the beautiful old trees right outside our window.  And this amazing planet in general.  Times ten. 
• My soul delights in my 5 favorite people in the world - my family, who I know I can be with for eternity because of the amazing plan that God has for us (which I must say my soul also delights in!)
• My soul delights in doodling. Indeed. 
• My soul delights more than I can explain in my brother Jesus Christ and his personal sacrifice and perfect, unconditional love for me.  
• My soul delights in the teeny little personalized tender mercies that I receive every day of my life from a Father in Heaven who knows me better than I know myself. 
• My soul delights in cookie dough.  True statement. 
• My soul delights in the past and present teachers in my life, who have taught me about the world, myself, and the gospel and who have had such an impact on who I am.  I also definitely delight in being a student at this university.  Very much so!
• My soul delights in the sunset outside my window right now.

That's definitely not the end, but I don't want to go overkill with the lovin' and delighting.  The general point is... My little soul and I are pretty darn happy.  It's a good feeling.

Never underestimate the power of a good doodle

Nitrogen cycle? Done. Stress relief? Double done. 

That's what I'm talkin about.

PS I'm particularly proud of that cow. I like him.

A big letter Y and a real sore bum

       Just if anyone was wondering, the trail up Y mountain is... just plain snow. Running up it works alright, but if you're dumb enough you may think about running down it as well.  Please let me dissuade you from doing such a thing.  It may or may not result in you falling/sliding several feet on your rear, which may or may not have happened to me this afternoon.  Also, dress warmer than shorts and a t-shirt, and bring gloves if you don't want to spend an hour after your run trying to get the feeling back into your fingers.

Just a word to the wise. [: Not that I experienced it first-hand or
anything. Of course not. I'm definitely not that stupid.

Yeah that's a lie. But I had a fantastic run today, aside from feeling like a total moron when I biffed it.  I realize I did have it coming - I was having way too much fun running down that mountain.  Sitting is currently very uncomfortable business due to my damaged bum bone.  But check out that scenery.  I'd bust my backside ten times over to get that view again!  Midterms start next week, and I decided I wanted to do something really killer for my workout the weekend before the stress sets in, just to give myself a boost (don't ask me why... it's the cross-country runner mentality.  Running 30 miles a week definitely impacts your sanity) and 1,074 feet of altitude gain over .8 of a mile sounded like just the thing!  And it was grand.  Aside from the results of my lack of caution on the way down.  But who knows, maybe the discomfort of a sore patootie on those hard Testing Center chairs'll motivate me to blow through my exams lightning fast?  This could be a blessing in disguise. 

The current project : drooling over mountains

In my defense: I'm rock-happy. I can't help it. 

And the most recent addition:

Second floor of the JFSB. New favorite place to study? Yup.
I heart them mountains real big.

I'm pretty happy to be me

     Friday might just be one of my most favorite words in the world.  There's nothing much like the feeling that comes from knowing you've got two full days to unwind before it's back to the grind.  Walking back from class today I realized I'm going to need that whole unwinding part much more than after a normal week - and not because I'm stressed or buried in assignments.  It's the opposite in fact; so many fantastic things happened this week!  The weekend is going to seem low-key in comparison. Just a few adventures I had:

I got my contract signed and set in stone for housing next year. I think we nabbed the best place in all of Provo, no lie. I can't wait to live in an apartment. And to room with two completely awesome friends from back home. Next year is going to be a blast to say the least. 

I needed some change so I did a lil' rearranging in my room.

I love Skype. And my family. And my brother's hair in this picture haha.

Some friends and I had a crazy party at Melinda's apartment. We played a
hilarious game of Psychiatrist...

played some KumCha and What If & Then, and made up some pretty
entertaining dares with the Dice Game (this is Tawni going in to a
random apartment to sit down and watch TV).

I lalalove packages. Especially from a best friend. My entire MONTH gets better.

 I'm pretty spoiled. [: Thank you, David. 

Tasha and I didn't feel like going to the Cannon for dinner one
night and realized we were both really in the mood for pizza. A Papa John's one
block away from our dorm is never a bad thing. And neither is
eating said pizza while watching old Office episodes.

Only the best runs include views like this. I love living so close to the temple.
I sat here for awhile, despite the 28 degree temperature, and just thought
about how blessed I am to be member of the Church. I love the temple!

The possibilities entertainment-wise are endless when your roommate has a car.

I went on a super fun date with a guy I recently met.
Feelin' all snazzy beforehand.

We grabbed some ice cream at Coldstone, had a MarioKart tournament, which he won,

and then played some racquetball, which he also won. The only thing I beat him at was the Padiddle game during the driving parts of the date. Works for me. It was such a fun night!

Crop circles in the snow. No biggy. If I was an alien driving a UFO, I'd visit

the Y on the daily. Who wouldn't?

And now, the piéce de résistance of the week (I've always wanted to use that
in a sentence). The most hyped regular season college basketball game in the history of BYU.
The day before, Tasha and I got two of the 5, 000 highly sought-after wristbands that were being given out to guarantee us a seat at the game. We had to be in line at 4 o'clock on game day, so when my last class let out at 3:50, I booked it to meet Tasha at the Marriott and... we waited and waited and waited.  The line wrapped around three sides of the Marriott. Insane!

At 6pm we were let in to the building. It was total chaos. People were running

for the best seats possible. We nabbed seats on the 22nd row, which we were pretty psyched about. 

We Jimmer-fied our faces. Oh yeah.
TJ Fredette rapped for us... it was interesting.

Two hours later, it was game time. The student section was a total white out. Represent!

It was the most incredible game ever and I'm sure everyone in the stadium would agree. The atmosphere was INSANE. Nobody in the student section sat down or stopped screaming/chanting/singing for the entire game. And SDSU was really good. It was so tense.

Heyyyy Jimmer [:

For the entire game, the two scores were like within six or seven points of each other. In the last 4 minutes, we finally pulled away and the reality that we were going to WIN the game set in. I have videos of the crowd's reaction but I'm too lazy to upload them right now... just take this picture for an example instead. 

 

Yeah. A tad bit excited.

So, undefeated #4 San Diego State, how does that score feel to ya?

The game ended and the Marriott Center basically just exploded. People

stormed the court and everyone was just going mental. The pictures don't give it justice at all.

It. was. awesome.

You ring that victory bell, boys [:

Everyone on campus is still on a high from that night!

In short, I love BYU. I am so blessed to be here! I'm starting to really feel like I'm meant to be here. To tie it all up, here's a quote from a talk by Elder Holland that my amazing Book of Mormon teacher emailed out to us just the other day. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I love it. A new favorite for sure:

"Beware of the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants [you] to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. Cast not away therefore your confidence. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you." 

I'm not gonna go all diary-ish about why this quote means so much to me, but I feel like it was said directly to me! I needed to hear that so badly. It's perfect. I am meant to be here. I love it here and I know that it's only going to get better. I'm a happy girl. I love my life. But at the same time a relaxing weekend couldn't have come at a better time. [: 

A shout-out to hot pirates

I often find myself looking at my planner and feeling extremely unenthused with the amount of space  occupied by assignments, due dates, and the like. Kinda kills my mood. A quick solution? This. My day gets about seven times more spectacular each time I open my laptop. [: So this is to you, William - you gorgeous pirate, you.  My grades and well-being will greatly benefit from your beautiful presence in my life. 

"It's like living with a six year old..."

(Bonus points if you can name that movie. A Krop fam favorite)

      I realize this is very likely one of those videos that is only funny to the people in it, {seriously, to Tash & I it's still absolutely gut-bustingly hilarious} but I really want my family, especially my sibs, to see this. So without further ado, enjoy the fruits of the wee hours of the morning in room 2108. Yes, we both know we appear extremely immature in this video [: We're okay with it. College definitely does not mean adulthood. Yet. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAyBOVcmktc

The current project: kickin booty and takin names

Semester #1 is in the books. I didn't really write much about it on here; it wouldn't make for very fun reading. We can safely say it was just plain hard. It was not what I expected college to be like at all. But I learned a lot about myself and the person I want to be. Most importantly, I learned that when everything around me is changing, there are a few things that will never change - true friends, family and my Savior. They will always, always be there for me. My testimony has grown more than I probably know right now. 

Anyhow, Winter 2011 is going to go better. I'm determined about that.

     The customary first day of school picture. [: 

My schedule this semester makes me excited! I learned from last semester to not over-do the credit load, so I'm taking it a little easier this time around. I was pretty confident until I realized that this schedule is only about two credits less than Fall semester. [: We'll just have to see how things turn out. 

Student Development could very likely salvage my poor time-management skills and scatterbrained study schedules. I'm alllll up for any help I can get in that department.

Personal Financing is way intimidating! It's a 200-level class and I've never taken any kind of financing class, but from what I can tell, the concepts will be really helpful when I get a "real" job and start managing "real" money issues. I'm a bit scared of all the numbers and equations, but my gut feeling is that I'll need this class in the future. It also is doing a fine job of convincing me to be in no hurry to get married and grow up yet. [: 

Environmental Biology: So. stinkin. excited. about this class. An entire class just about this fabulous planet we live on and the current environmental issues. We get to go to the Bean Museum and DRAW the animals AND do the same thing in the greenhouse! But wait, it gets even better (I didn't think that was possible). We get to go on field trips and observe the systems that we study in class. That's right. Dream come true. We get to go outside. This class and I will be very good friends. 

Book of Mormon is already fantastic. My teacher is amazing. I love the way he approaches the scriptures. And besides, I love the subject. It's gonna be just plain goood.

Western Humanities is great. The teacher is really a neat guy and, though the reading load is pretty hefty and it's safe to say I'm not making friends among Plato or Oedipus Rex, I'm enjoying the class a lot. Definitely a good decision!

Bring it on, college. I'm ready for round two.