Aspen Grove Friends....

Aristotle once said, "What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." In life, we are blessed with a special friend. A friend that changes your life just by being apart of it. A friend that can make you laugh. A friend that understands your weaknesses but loves you despite them. A friend that sees your potential and believes in you when no one else does. A friend that will listen and will hold you close and tell you that everything will be ok. A friend that will stand by your side during those difficult times.

Coming up to Aspen Grove I was so nervous, yet so excited to develop new friendships with all of my co-workers. The one thing I didn't expect, however, was to become such good friends with two girls, Jessica (a.k.a Breeze) and Rachel, so quickly. In other words, the three of us become good friends in less than a week. I am so grateful for this and for the friendships that have developed between the three of us. Jessica and Rachel are sweet, funny, beautiful, and so much fun to hang out with. I feel so blessed to have them as friends and look forward to spending the summer with them. For the past couple of years I have been praying and searching to find true girl friends up here at BYU that love me for who I am and that love spending time with me. Coming to Aspen Grove has allowed me to finally find such a friend in both Jessica and Rachel. As we continue to get to know one another, the similarities between us continue to increase. Jessica and I have more than just our name in common, our personalities are practically the same. I know that as our friendships continue to grow and develop we will only grow closer together as friends and will create many wonderful memories. I am so excited and so grateful to have the opportunity to spend the whole summer working and playing with my beautiful friends Jessica and Rachel.

"Friends are the most important part of your life. Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter, but most importantly, treasure the memories."

-Dave Brenner

Week #4:

Rachel is on the left and Jess is in the middle:

Of course we had to take a funny picture:

Week #3...

Another week at Aspen Grove has come and gone. I have now been up here for three wonderful weeks. I cannot fully express in words the joy I have experienced in these past three weeks. I have developed many wonderful friendships, I have laughed till I cried, I have been a friend to lean on, I have played many games that have pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I have grown more than I could have ever imagined. I truly feel so blessed to have the opportunity to spend my summer working at Aspen Grove. I have already had so much fun and I know that it will only continue to get better.

This past week at Aspen Grove was a week full of soccer. Why you ask? Well, Thursday night, after work, a few of us got together and played a game of soccer. It was so much fun and was definitely a good workout. It reminded me of being little and playing soccer for AYSO. ( It also reminded me of how out of shape I am.) Then on Saturday night the BYU men's soccer team had a game against Lancaster so some of the staff got together to drive down to Provo to watch the game. I had never been to a real soccer game and, in spite of the cold, I had so much fun. I must admit though, Basketball is still my favorite sport to watch and play.

Week #3:

Be Yourself...

As I sat on my bed with my laptop in hand I struggled for ideas on which to blog about, other than Aspen Grove. I cannot fully express in words how happy I am and how much fun I am having up here at Aspen Grove. It is absolutely perfect and exactly what I needed at this time in my life. However, as I was flipping through my notebook full of many wonderful and inspirational quotes, I came across one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies. This specific quote is from the movie "Step Up 2": " Be yourself, cause life's to short to be somebody else." I absolutely love this quote for many reasons. It is a simple reminder that despite what others tell us and what society tells us we must always be constantly striving to be who we really are because life is to short to try to be somebody else. Believe in yourself, believe in your potential, and believe in your dreams. Through dedication, hard work, and faith nothing is impossible. Remember, Love Life and Be Brave!

Week #2:

A Brand New Adventure...

Trying new things isn't exactly one of my stronger points. I have the type of personality in which I absolutely fear meeting new people, participating in new activities, or experiencing drastic changes. However, there are those who love new experiences and/or meeting new people. They crave the challenge and find excitement in the unknown. Unfortunately I was not blessed with this characteristic and two days ago I prayed with all my heart to be blessed with this characteristic simply for a couple of hours. Why, you ask?Well, two days ago I started the Aspen Grove "chapter of my life" and I was absolutely terrified of the unknown. As I sat on a beautiful wooden bench with my dad, he brought comfort to my nervous soul with his words of wisdom. Before I realized, it was time for him to leave and for me to BE BRAVE and LOVE LIFE. With my heart pounding as loud as a drum, I gathered up my courage and put myself out there. I meet all my wonderful coworkers, which included becoming best friends with a fellow coworker named Jessica, and couldn't have had a better first day on the job.

For so long I have prayed and consistently tried to gather up the courage to BE BRAVE and to step out of my comfort zone in order to become more outgoing and less shy. Coming to Aspen Grove gave me that perfect opportunity to accomplish this goal. Moving to Aspen Grove where I didn't know anyone or anything allowed me to have a fresh start. Coming up to Aspen Grove where no one knew me, allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be. It gave me the chance to be the me who is not shy but is fun, outgoing, and full of love and laughter. Here is to a wonderful summer at Aspen Grove!

Week #1:

This is probably my favorite part of the camp: