matt's mission

Elder Loper has hereby been called to the Massachusetts Boston mission, Haitian Creole speaking.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I originally wrote a very lengthy blog based on Matt's mission call. Then I realized...people probably don't want to read a long blog about what I was feeling when Matt opened his call. Suffice it to say...I can't remember ever being more excited about anything. And now that the shock has worn off for Matt...I'm not sure he's ever been more excited about anything.

The upcoming months are going to be some of the most difficult he has ever experienced, I believe. But I feel confident that they will also be some of the most rewarding, the most exciting, and the most spiritual of his life. They will be months (and years) that he will never forget for the rest of his life. He will reflect on them every day as his love for the people and for the Lord grows greater than he ever thought it could.

I am so proud of Matt, his life, and his decisions, and I support him with my whole heart. :)

secretly blonde

Yesterday, I was working on an event for my job. One of my tasks was to tape up a sign that gave directions to our event on a glass door. I had been rushed all day to complete my assorted tasks, and I was already mildly frustrated as I took the sign and some masking tape outside to tape it up. I held the sign and pulled some of the tape from off the roll, cut it, and exhaled loudly as the wind suddenly picked up speed and tape stuck to the front of the sign. My first reaction was to pull the tape right off the sign, which of course took off some of the lettering of the sign as well. I growled inwardly. Again I cut some more tape off the roll in an effort to tape up this sign. And once again, the wind blew with perfect timing and tape stuck to the front of the sign. This time, however, I restrained myself from pulling it off the sign, but instead left it, which still looked pretty silly considering the new shiny, diagonal streak that ran across the front of the sign. Finally, after several very frustrating minutes, I had taped up the sign to the door.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized....

....it was a glass door.

I could have taped it on the inside.

*I think someone dyes my hair brown while I sleep.*

the "oh yeah?" factor

Most of the time, I don't do things to prove anything to anybody. I do most things solely to prove to myself that I can do them.

Every once in a while, however, I do something partially because someone told me I couldn't do it. That the odds were against me.

Oh yeah? Watch me.

arizona

I love sitting in the sun! This weather is perfect.

When I get out of class and have a few minutes to kill, I always grab a good book and find a quiet place to read. Outside, of course. Or, if Matt is out of class at the same time, I sit with him in the sun (which is even more preferable than reading a book!).

Arizona is the best state in the United States. No arguments.

Also, I have the best boyfriend in the world. No arguments.

happy day

Matt is going on a mission. This summer. And I could not be prouder. :) I love him!

a week and a day

My entire life, I have been generally resistant to change. There have been a few things that I was more than happy to change about my life (graduating high school falling into that category), but most of the time, I'm pretty content with the way things are. I blame this on my dad. If you've seen Father of the Bride, the character George Banks is my dad. Every person who's seen that movie and met my dad knows exactly what I'm talking about. It's a bizarre resemblance, really. Anyway, if it's possible to inherit some sort of change-resistant gene, I'm pretty sure that's what happened to me.

Let's take example number one. When my family moved from Yuma to Prescott in 2001, I was absolutely terrified. My life in Yuma was everything I had ever wanted (riding bikes around my neighborhood and catching lizards in my backyard), and the thought of moving just...didn't go over well. Luckily for me (actually, I don't know if lucky is the right word; I don't think Heavenly Father uses luck), I met my best friend of the next 8 years the day after I moved to Prescott. From that day on, Ashley and I were inseparable. We went swimming, caught lady bugs, explored in her vast backyard, had too many sleepovers to count, and when school started, we even hung out at school, though she was one grade ahead of me.

Then another tragedy occured. It was time for Ashley to move on to high school. And I was stuck in the 8th grade. I was definitely not a big fan of this change, but thankfully, Ashley did everything in her power to make this change as easy as possible for me, and we still hung out more often than not as soon as school was out. Cait moved into town my junior year of high school, and though it took me some time to get used to having a third member in our inseparable group, I eventually realized that Cait fit in perfectly. In far too short a time, however, it was time for Ashley and Cait to move on a second time without me. But this time, it was much further away. College. This was probably the hardest change of all for me. I went from having two best friends with me all the time to having two best friends come and visit me over Christmas break.

I finally realized that Ashley and Cait moving away to college was a positive change a year later when I moved away to college myself. Although I still missed Ashley and Cait dearly, I talked to them all the time on the phone and through our incessant emails. More often than not, I felt like I was writing a journal entry as I wrote the details of my day and every emotion that went along with the events of the day. Everything was going great. Until I learned about one more upcoming change. A big change.

Ashley got engaged.

To a normal best friend (if there is such a person), this probably wouldn't be a big deal. But, after all, this is me we're talking about. Normal has never been a part of my vocabulary. When she told me the big news, I told her how happy I was for her. I told her that this was the most exciting news I had ever heard. I was lying. I spent the next couple of days moping around and telling everyone who asked how I was that my best friend was getting married. I'm sure that wasn't quite the answer they were expecting. And it was probably made weirder by the fact that I probably looked like a hurt puppy. Things would just not be the same for us!

Though those intense feelings of disappointment finally assuaged slighly, I still felt like this was not okay. I felt that way right up until I was able to spend some time over Christmas break with Ashley and Jared. It hit me that night that this was exactly what Ashley needed. That Jared understood her, and was (and is), dare I say, perfect for her. That this actually was the right thing. From that night on, there was no more moping, no more complaining. I was okay with Ashley getting married. No, more than that--I was ecstatic that Ashley is getting married!

Ashley is getting married in one week and one day. And I could not be happier for her.

Yesterday, Cait hit me with the news that she started her mission papers. I'm...going to try not to mope for so long about this one.

valentines day

I know this is a little belated, but...my Valentines Day was the best ever.  Basically. 

However, for the full effect of what I experienced on this day, I need to back up even further than Valentines Day.  A few weekends ago, Matt, Ashley, Josh, and I traveled to Casa Grande to hang out and do some exploring.  (I don't really recommend it as an exciting tourist spot; the stench of Casa Grande reminded me a lot of my 4-H days at the Yuma County Fair. Plus it's not really a terribly exiciting town anyway, although we did have a good time!)  While in Casa Grande, we stopped of at the local Target to pick up some snacks for the movies (yes I realize this isn't strictly legal, but it is much cheaper!).  With the intention of killing some time before our movie started, we meandered around Target for quite some time.  My meandering stopped altogether, however, when I saw a picture frame that I absolutely fell in love with.  I just couldn't walk away from it.  A picture frame doesn't really sound like it should be that exciting, but this thing was beautiful!  Matt saw how much I loved it, and I'm sure noticed the far-off look in my eye throughout the rest of the evening as I kept picturing the frame in my head.  But I knew I shouldn't spend the money, so I kept trying to forget about it.

Fast forward two weeks to Valentines Day.

In the morning, while Matt was at basketball, I "heart attacked" his room.  I felt like a ninja because of my incredible stealthiness.  (Disclaimer: There were no intense acts of violence during my ninja mission.)

That night, Matt made Ashley, Josh, and me chicken and brocoli alfredo and garlic bread.  It was amazing.  And sweet.  And romantic.  Right before we all ate together, Matt pulled me into his room and gave me his Valentines gift.  It was all I could do not to cry when I unwrapped the beautiful frame I had loved so much at Target.  Matt is so good to me!!!  (All the time....not just when he buys me one of the the most beautiful frames ever.:)

Here's one of Ashley and Josh.  YAY! :)