Badminton....

One of my favorite sports to watch and play is basketball. It is faced paced, intense, entertaining, competitive, and exhilarating. When I play basketball I enter into another world.Everything changes. All I can see is the basketball, the court, and the hoop. My world suddenly becomes so full of life as I give all of my efforts and energy to play to the best of my ability. Having such a deep love for basketball, other sports just don't compare, especially badminton.

I have never understood the game of badminton and probably never will. In high school we had a badminton team, and to be honest, I thought that it was the weirdest thing. I honestly didn't understand how badminton could be considered a competitive sport. I mean really, all you do is stand there and hit a feathered projectile over a net to the opposing players side of the court. Having played basketball competitively for more than 7 years you can see why I am so confused and why I don't understand how badminton can be considered a competitive sport.

Well, taking place right now, here at Aspen Grove, is a badminton tournament and no I did not sign up to play. However, two of my dear friends, Jamisyn and Albert, did and there first match was against each other. Obviously I had to be there to photographically document the occasion and let me tell you, it was not a game that I wanted to miss. Both Jamisyn and Albert dressed up for their game and the event was one to remember. I have to admit that I was completely entertained and will never forget that night for it was full of laughter and good memories. I guess badminton isn't so bad after all.

Week #11:

Okay. For the past two days I have been sitting on my bed trying to come up with the perfect words to describe this past weekend. I finally came to the conclusion that I have writer's block, bad. Or could it be that this past weekend was simply so fabulous that there are no words to describe it? I could try to explain and describe the events of this past weekend, however, I feel that my photos would tell the story way better than I ever could. A picture is worth a thousand words right?

Week 10:

Hello Park City:

He thinks he's so cool, oh wait, HE IS:

The next generation learning from the generation before:

The amazing hotel we stayed in:

The Pursuit of Happiness...

If you asked various people what in this world brought them true happiness, the list would be endless. To one it may be their friends or family, to another it may be their possessions, their religion, or their hobbies. In today's society, an individual's ultimate goal is the achievement of true happiness or joy. In today's society it is all about the pursuit of happiness. Finding that one thing in life that can bring you true joy and happiness. However, when on the pursuit of happiness we sometimes forget to pause and just be happy. We seem to get caught up in our everyday routines and activities that we simply forget to stop and be happy with the life we are living or the moment we are in. Everyday is a blessing. We must remember on our pursuit of happiness to live everyday to its fullest, to love life, and to be brave.

Quote of the Week:

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

-Guillame Apollinaire

Week 9:

The Perfect Summer Job...

I honestly believe that words cannot fully express how wonderful and amazing my job here at Aspen Grove is. Seriously, it is the perfect summer job. Why you ask? Well let me give you 5 reasons why I believe that I have the perfect summer job. Number 1: Hello, I get to live in the beautiful Utah mountains. Number 2: I live with all my co-workers and therefore get to hang out and play with them all the time. Number 3: I get to work/live with my three best friends Jessica, Jamisyn, and Rachel. Number 4: There are many beautiful photo opportunities that I am most definitely taking advantage of. And number 5: Working at Aspen Grove has given me the opportunity to discover/define who I really am.

Here at Aspen Grove we are given all of Friday and half of Saturday as our days off. This means that we are free to do whatever we please. However, as staff we simply love each other too much to do anything that does not include spending time with one another (this goes back to reason number 2). This of course means that even on the weekends we are always together participating in /playing various activities. (As if we don't spend enough time together during the week. J.K). No matter what day of the week it might be, we, as a staff, are always spending time together.

Last Friday we all had the opportunity to go ice skating. After a couple hours of fun on the ice we all helped a fellow co-worker celebrate her birthday at her house by playing games and eating tons of cake and ice cream. Friendships grew stronger, many pictures were taken, laughs were shared, and wonderful memories were created. I absolutely love the staff up here and am so grateful for the friendships that we have all formed with one another.

Week 8:

(Sorry its a little out of focus)

All the staff performing the Aspen Grove Tragedy dance on the ice:

Stuart Falls....

It all started with "Jessica where are we going to hike to after work?" Then with a confused look on my face I turned to my best friend Jessica and said, "What? We are going hiking? When did we discuss this?" And then she of course replies, "I thought I we talked about going hiking yesterday." And that is how our adventure/hike to Stuart Falls began.

It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon when Jessica and I hiked up to Stuart Falls. Jessica had just gotten over an awful cold and was finally back to her old self; happy and full of energy and life. This of course meant that it was time for some girl bonding which, in effect, lead to us hiking up to Stuart Falls. It was a beautiful, easy hike and I absolutely loved spending time with Jess talking, laughing, and creating wonderful memories! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to live in such a beautiful place and I am so grateful for the friendship that Jess and I share.

Love Life, Be Brave. Live every day to its fullest and have no regrets. Be spontaneous, adventurous, and outgoing. Be grateful for the people our Heavenly Father has placed in our lives. Love them and create many wonderful memories with them! Have faith, have hope, and don't be afraid to dream!

Week 7:

Before our hike:

Stuart Falls:

Jessica you are beautiful!

"You Are Awesome..."

Tonight as I sit in my bed and reflect upon the past weeks events words seem to escape me. Being up here at Aspen Grove has given me the opportunity to think about my life. To think about who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. Aspen Grove has changed me and has allowed me to grow. This I am so grateful for. I am no longer the girl who sits quietly in the crowd and somehow blends in to the point where she is forgotten. Today I am brave, today I am open and expressive, today I am comfortable with who I am, today I no longer care about what others may think of me, today I am me. Someone I greatly admire once said, "I am loud because for too long I have been quiet." Today I am loud because for too long I have been quiet and it is time for my voice to be heard. Today I started living every to its fullest. Today and everyday I will do whatever it takes to make my dreams come true. Today I am full of love, life, happiness, joy, and laughter.

A few months ago I wrote a post about fear. I specifically wrote about my personal fear of speaking in public and putting myself out there. However, being up here at Aspen Grove has allowed me to overcome that fear with power. Now my deepest fear is this:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves- who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you not to be so?"

~Marianne Williamson

Week #6:

Frontier Night:

All for One...

For the past few weeks there has been a particular song which comes to mind everyday. It is the perfect summer song and yes, it is from "High School Musical 2"! The song to which I am referring to is called "All for One" and the chorus of the song describes my experience here at Aspen Grove so perfectly.

"Everybody all for one, our real summer has just begun. Let's rock and roll and just let go feel the rhythm of the drums. Were gonna have fun in the sun now that all the hard work, work is done. Everybody one for all and all for one! ....It's not about the future, it's not about the past, it's making every single day last, last, last!!"

Although I will be away from my family the whole summer, I know that this summer will be a summer to remember. It will be a summer full of love, laughter, friends, and memories. This summer is not about the future, it's not about the past; this summer is about making every single day last!

Week #5:

My name tag, I feel so official wearing it: