Let's play "catch up"

I'm so sorry!!! :( I haven't blogged since October!!?? I really am trying to get better at this, I want to make my blog sort of my journal also, so I will try harder! Lets see....what's happened since October? HA! Lots! I think I will just skip that...and go to most recent. In February, I qualified for State Solo/Ensemble, which was planned for May. On May 1st, my Dad and Jenni took me to UW-GB to the Studio Arts Building. I was the second piano solo to perform for the day, and you have no idea how nervous I was. I knew my piece very well, but it was in my head that I was at STATE and I was gonna be nervous no matter what! lol I was super duper proud of myself for even qualifying and now that I was there, I was so proud of my accomplishment! I ended up receiving a Second place at the State division, but for my first time, that was really spectacular!

Also in May, I turned 16! woot woot. I passed my driving test and got my license! It is so much more fun and exciting, and also way more convenient to have a license! School ended on June 4th, which was a little blessing in itself! I did really well in all my classes, and so proud of myself. I earned all A's, plus one B+. Overall, I was proud of myself!

In the summer, Hannah Stoehr and I usually go to EFY in Utah. This year, we wanted something a little bit different. We searched and found something called AFY, which stands for Adventures For Youth. It's only location is Rexburg, Idaho at the BYU-Idaho Campus. It's pretty similar to EFY, but we stayed in apartments off campus and its a little more off-campus activities, and to be perfectly honest, way more fun than EFY!!! Not only did we have dances, workshops, devotionals, awesome counselors, games, and new friends; but we also got to go white-water rafting, do a ropes course, go on a blind walk, and do baptisms for the dead in the Rexburg Temple! Needless to say, Hannah and I had a blast! My mom, Hannah's mom, Hannah, and I stayed in Utah/Idaho for 10 days, and I did NOT want to get on that plane home! I absolutely love Utah and can't wait for college at BYU-Provo (my goal). Of course I missed family and friends and my own bed, but I did not wanna come home! I meet so many wonderful people in Utah and made so many new friends. I'm not excited for the upcoming school year...I love that teens in Utah have so many great LDS friends to hang out with...and not to mention, so many cute LDS boys!!! haha oo lala! jk guys! I'm just not excited to have so much wickedness around me in lil ole Gtown and the absolute need to stand up for myself and beliefs.

Also in June, I had Youth Conference. The Wausau Stake held Youth Conference in Wisconsin Rapids this year, and it was actually better than I had expected it to be. For the service project, we went to a local cemetery and dug into the sod around all the war veterans' grave stones! It was a rather humbling and eye-opener experience for me...it was really great to see the names and dates of each vet.

Over the 4th weekend, Dest and I had a group of friends from the Stake come and stay in Gresham. It was a ton of fun to hang out with our friends and just have some good fun. We set off fireworks, attended all the festivities in Gresham's little July 4th celebration, and went swimming numerous times! I was so tired after this weekend...come Monday morning, I didn't wake up until 12:30! :) I know, I know...laziness, but hey...I was all tuckered out!