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:

The Ending of a Chapter....

You know that feeling you get when you reach the ending of a really great book or movie? Its almost like a bitter sweet feeling. You have become so involved in the storyline of the book or movie its almost as if you have become one of the characters. Its as if you have escaped your own reality and entered into the alternate reality playing before you. Your sitting there anxious to see how it all plays out, yet at the same time sad that it must all soon come to an end.

My life isn't exactly a movie and its not a book that just anyone can pick up to read. However, my life is full of many chapters and one of them has come to a close. Another year at Brigham Young University has come and gone. Its hard to believe that I will be a junior in college starting next fall. This past year at BYU has been one full of many wonderful friends and memories. It has been a year full of trials and challenges, full of joy and laughter, full of school and play. It has been everything I could have ever asked for. As the year has come to a close I have reflected back on all that I have done and can only hope and pray that I can improve and continue to grow. As a character in this life story, I am terribly sad that this chapter has come to an end but am anxious to begin a new chapter this summer up at Aspen Grove. I suppose that if my life were a book, this specific chapter would end with the following: "As she walks through the hallway she glances into each empty room. As she reaches the door she turns around and with a sigh smiles as she looks at the vacant apartment and is immediately filled with memories of hardship, joy, and laughter. Her mother calls out to her, asking her what's wrong. She simply turns, smiles, and with hope in her eyes walks away from her past and into her future."

The BYU Philharmonic Orchestra...

Two concert tickets, $15, a single pink rose, $4, two hours of Beethoven's most profound musical works and one very proud sister, priceless! The gift of music is a talent I long to have, however, it is talent my sister Courtney has been blessed with. She has been playing her viola for over 10 years and continues to share her talent with others by playing in Brigham Young University's Philharmonic orchestra. As a Music Performance major at BYU, Courtney's deep love and passion for music are witnessed in the joy she receives when she plays in an orchestra. As I attended one of her orchestra concerts last night, I realized for the first time how much joy she receives when she performs for others. The stage is certainly where she longs to be. Courtney, you have been blessed with an amazing gift and the power to bless and inspire others through your music. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. I hope that you will continue to follow your dreams and to find joy in your music. Through your gift and talent you have blessed many lives and will continue to bless and inspire many more. Thank You for being a great sister and for sharing last night with me.

Art Show....

As part of my final for my nature photography class I participated in an art show in which I displayed five of my best photos. It was a night of firsts for me. It was the first time that I had ever printed any of my photos and had them matted, it was the first time I displayed my photos in an art show and it was the first time I had to verbally present my photos. To have to verbally present my photos was probably the worst part of the night for me because I don't do well speaking in front of people. It scares me to death. Plus, my photos are so good they speak for themselves. (Just Kidding) It was definitely a growing experience in which I learned how to professionally present my photos and I walked away with some creative ideas in which to present photos in an art show. And better yet, I now have beautiful photos to give away as gifts! Perfect!!

(Sorry some of the photos are unfocused)

This is my friend Merritt's display:

This is my display:

And this is my friend Eric's display:

Oh, and HaPpY eAsTeR!