Top 10 Lessons from the week:

1- Cafe Rio with Hillary and Sarah = a GOOD time to evaluate Sarah's intelligence :)

2- Don't leave your work computer unattended for any amount of time with 3 Ute fans in your office.

3- It's a good idea to know enough about computers to get the Auburn symbol off your desktop when you fail at #2

4- Humanity, in general, is pretty dishonest

5- The conference center is 1.4 million square feet...and needs to be vacuumed

6- A gingerbread house will not stand with weight on only one side of it (or gingerbread "boat")

7- When Christmas shopping, I can't put the card down and Meech can't take it out

8- A large diet coke at 11 and a large Dr. Pepper at 1 are not caffeinated enough to replace insufficient sleep.

9- People of walmart . com will ALWAYS be funny when running on 4 hours of sleep from the night before.

10- Wrestling with the Pratt boys can be nothing but a good time (with lots of bruises)

The best way to spread holiday cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

A Charlie Brown Christmas...

Since my childhood this has been one of my two favorite Christmas movies. (The other will have to be a surprise for the future). Now, later in life, I realize why. I AM LUCY! We are the same! I hope you all enjoy this clip from the movie as much as I do:

Friend

My friend. Her name is Amanda Johnson but I call her friend; because that's just exactly what she is and what she will always be. Friend has been a tender mercy to me ever since I can remember. When I was a brand new missionary struggling to adjust to the lifestyle she sent me a letter that saved me from running as fast as I could back to the U.S. Friend and I seem to experience many of the same trials, events, and experiences at the same time--which has become my saving grace. Knowing I have someone to chat with that feels the same about life right now as I do is basically priceless and indescribable.

You see friend and I are the last of our group of college friends to get married. (sorry for bringing the attention of that to everyone friend) and I just don't know what I'd do without our consistently lengthy chats about guys and dating and marriage. A definite lifesaver!

Friend and I graduated from college together and shared our graduation dinner at the Chef's Table with our families. We wanted our families to meet because we are family. I call her friend but really she's more like a sister. (we even both invited "guests" that probably should not have been in attendance...haha)

Friend and I served missions at the same time so we've always had such great memories to share! Luckily she started a little before me and could lay out a little bit of a map for me.

I would suggest you all meet my friend. She's wonderful and I know you'll all love her just as much as I do.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

I feel I can say with a strong conviction in my heart...there is no where more beautiful than Utah during the autumn months. The trees start turning and the colors up the canyons will literally just stop you in your tracks.

Today my Mom and I went up American Fork Canyon on a drive to see these beautiful landscapes. I know the pictures don't even begin to do it justice but I wanted to share a little of our outing! I love how appreciative my Mom is of nature. Everything spectacular she sees she thinks of heaven and our Heavenly Father. I know I've said this before but she truly is the most amazing mother and woman. She teaches me to be grateful each and every day for all the marvelous blessings I've been given.

Thoughtful thought

"Hermana sigue con animo aun cuando parezca que no se ve la luz que alumbra el camino"

Can't sleep.

I am laying in my bed trying to fall asleep. I know I won't be able to do so for a while. It's a vicious cycle that I experience at night when I'm tired but not exhausted. First I focus on not thinking of anything but that naturally leads me to think about something and the chain begins. One thing leads to the next and then here I am at 1:15 am remembering one of the most compassionate events I've ever witnessed.

Towards the end of my mission I became ill will appendicitis. At the time I was companions with Hermana Sarah Johnson. A sweetheart of a girl to really say the very least. She was so kind to me. After I had been in bed for about 2 or 3 weeks I began feeling very VERY discouraged. I remember that at night I couldn't sleep (much like what is happening to me now) and my mind would begin to race around thinking of all the things I wished I could do or should be accomplishing. I was a missionary darn it! I was there to serve...not to be served!

One night probably around 2 in the morning I was laying in the dark in my broken little bed feeling the terrific pain of what had come from the surgery. I began to cry. I hardly ever cry but it was somewhat inevitable at this point. I was sad, mad, confused. And that's when I discovered the true heart of Hermana Johnson. By this point she had helped me through more physical obstacles than she had obviously signed up for as a brand new missionary due to my illness. But that night she helped heal my heart. I remember she explained to me the many different reasons why I could have been experiencing this particular trial. I remember she pleaded with me to believe I wasn't a terrible missionary for having to stay in bed from the appendicitis instead of preaching the gospel. I remember she brought comfort to my heart. She was a true servant of the Lord on the day--and each day that I learn more about her I love her more and more.

Happy Pumpkin Day!

Well it's official...fall is upon us! I'm not actually sure where the last 2 months of my life have disappeared to but I'm glad to have a few minutes to sit down and get a blog posted. I've been working A LOT lately and although I'm not positive I love to admit this I think I take after my Dad in the whole "workaholic" sense.

Yesterday my Mom was all excited to go into her garden and check out her pumpkins she planted earlier in the year. Little did she know we would find all of this waiting to be picked...

A friend

Lately I've been thinking about those people who have been placed in my life to help me along the path. Through the struggles, trials, tribulations and the happiness, smiles, and laughter. Here are some of my thoughts about who these people are:

A friend is someone who makes you want to be better. To push yourself to becoming an improved person

someone who thinks about your well-being

who cares enough to call and find out how life has been

who listens

someone that wants to share life with you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. They feel what you feel and are happy to do so

a friend loves you for who you are and uplifts you

is proud of you for your accomplishments and laughs with you about your failures

helps you feel the spirit

will cry with you when needed

who understands and agrees with you...even when you both know you're wrong

a friend knows what's going on in your life and remembers to remind you how loved you are

In the last week I have had some life-changing chats with some of the greatest friends I've ever known. When I think about these people and the ways in which they have come into my life I can see the reality of tender mercies taking place. I have been blessed by some really incredible friends. You know who you are. This is my way of thanking you for being a part of my life and showing my gratitude for your unwavering faith, kind words, thoughtful hearts, and patience.

Perfectly Lonely By John Mayer

So...I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG!

Had a little love, but I spread it thin
Falling in her arms and out again
Made a bad name for my game around town
Tore up my heart, and shut it down

Nothing to do
Nowhere to be
A simple little kind of free
Nothing to do
No one but me
And that's all I need

I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely (Yeah)
'Cause I don't belong to anyone
Nobody belongs to me

I see friends around from time to time
When their ladies let them slip away
And when they ask me how I'm doing with mine
This is always what I say

Nothing to do
Nowhere to be
A simple little kind of free
Nothing to do
No one to be
Is it really hard to see

Why I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely (Yeah)
'Cause I don't belong to anyone
Nobody belongs to me

And this is not to say
There never comes a day
I'll take my chances and start again
And when I look behind
On all my younger times
I have to thank the wrongs that led me to a love so strong

I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely (Yeah)
'Cause I don't belong to anyone
Nobody belongs to me

(It's the way, it's the way, it's the way that I want it)

Birthday Thoughts

Well...it's official. I am now an adult. I started off my birthday yesterday by becoming an adult and getting a job! I'm pretty excited about it all. I've never had a job before where I got to give it my 100% best effort because it was never my top priority. Before now school has always taken precedence to just about everything else in life but I can actually start my career and focus on that for a while.

My family and friends made yesterday the most wonderful birthday. My Mom is so great and does everything she can each year to make sure our birthdays are special experiences. She made me crepes for breakfast and then took us to Color Me Mine where we each selected a pottery piece to paint. I chose a chip/dip square dish. I'm so excited to see the finished product in a few days!

Some of my friends came over in the evening to celebrate with us. We had a delicious grilled steak dinner and lavished ourselves with yummy cheesecake (thanks Sarah and Hillary!) and carrot cake. I've decided that the only thing needed to make a birthday great is to be with the people you love. And I LOVE the people who were with me yesterday.

For my birthday I received several new items to help me with a new goal I've acquired...the half marathon in October!!! Am I crazy--perhaps!? My good friend Aishe and I will be running it together. She's amazing and helps push me to keep going with the goal. And now I have a watch to tell me everything I could possibly need to know to get me from start to finish. I didn't even know such things existed! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

It's when I spend a day surrounded by my family and close friends that I realize just how blessed and loved I really am. Late last night I watched the movie The Blind Side with a friend and as I saw the hard things the main character had experienced in his life-mostly all of which were the results of the poor decisions others had made--I reflected on just how great life really is for me. I've never had to wonder if anyone loved me or cared about my well-being because I've always had parents who did everything they could to show their love. I've never had to hope to find a warm, dry place to sleep at night. I have always always had people in my life who believed in me and my abilities to accomplish anything I wanted. How does it work out that I was born into a home filled with love and so many others will never experience true, unconditional love? I don't know. I can't explain it but I do know I AM BLESSED!

Thanks everyone for making this a very memorable 23rd (haha) birthday!!!

Erb Week of Adventures

Last week my Uncle Steve, Aunt Arlene, and cousins Kendell and Brooke made the 13 hour trek from Medford, Oregon to visit us in Draper...and we played hard the whole week! The majority of our time was spent in the pool trying to decide who could dive, stand on the floaties and do the most impressive tricks (which in Meechys case resulted in funny falling incidents) the best (yep, we're just a LITTLE competitive...it must run in our genes) but we also sat around the fire telling stories and jokes with funny boys in pink cowgirl hats, went on a hiking trip at Snowbird that was responsible for our inability to walk for 3 days, watched Brian Reagan (need we say more?), went to Moab for some Southern Utah fun, and of course put in some time shopping in Salt Lake City at the Gateway. We laughed pretty much the entire week and just wore each other out with the late nights, fun-packed days and road trips.

Moab Hummer Trip: One of the most fun things we've ever done in Utah!

Hiking around Arches and to the Delicate Arch: (which by the way is one intense hike when done in 97 degree weather!)

And some much needed rest:

Snowbird

For Meechy's 22nd birthday we went to Snowbird Ski Resort to ride the tram. SO fun!

22 Things I love about Meech:

1-Her sense of humor...she's absolutely one of the funniest people I know-- Quite possibly the funniest

2-Simpleness of life with her

3-Our friendship. We fight but always make up instantly because we can't stand to not talk to each other

4-Her love for life. She's so passionate!

5-Getting ready in the bathroom with her

6-Her honesty about the important things in life: "Karin, you've really let yourself go!"

7-That she pronounces my name "Kirin"

8-Her smile that inevitably makes everyone around her happy

9-She's so thoughtful

10-She lets me tease her...for the price of only a little physical abuse

11-That she uses her huge muscles to get what she wants

12-She's the fastest texter I've ever seen

13-Her love for her car "onda" (The H got stolen)

14-Her desire to be independent and different

15-She's beautiful and she knows it

16-Her bang comb :)

17-She'll stay up late with me to watch Nick at Nite when I can't sleep...even if she's exhausted

18-Our hot tub chats-with the mice

19-She's always up for anything adventurous

20-Meech is SO motivated to achieve her goals

21-That she refuses to read my blog haha

22-She's One of the TWO best sisters I've ever known

Cara & Clarence Tied the Knot

Our good friend Cara Spohn asked us (Em, Meech, and I) to be bridesmaids in her wedding on July 17th. We've grown up together with her and her brother Derek and sister Rachel so it was neat to be a part of the whole shindig. Cara looked just gorgeous in her white dress and perma-smile that day. It was HOOTTT that day so we all look a little destroyed in the pictures but, as always, we did what we could.

Congrats Cara and Clarence!

Maui

I just wanted to share a few of the highlights from our trip to Maui back in June. My Mom, Dad, Sisters, Aunt Sue and Uncle Steve all shared a week long vacation at our timeshare in Maui. Don't let the following picture deceive you into believing we ran around participating in lots of activities because about 90% of our time was spent with our feet in the sand or laying out reading, listening to some good tunes with our stunna shades. (Meechy!) Too many pictures to choose from but here are a few:

Laying by the pool AND the beach...

SURFING!!!...

BEAUTIFUL Sunsets...

Family Time...

Independent Study Class...

The doom of my summer has been the Independent Study Class (Motivational Psychology 365) I signed up for last January. Yep, call me a procrastinator or whatever you want but I put it off until 2 days before the August graduation deadline. (I kind of tricked everyone into believing I had finished school when I walked in the graduation ceremonies in April...but in reality I still had to finish this one last online class). And it has turned out to be one of my most terrible ideas. I should've known that I wouldn't want to be inside with my nose in a textbook during the summer months AFTER I had supposedly finished school! What in the world was I thinking?!?

So...that's it! I'm officially finished and graduated and should be receiving my diploma in the mail before too long. Whoo Hoo!!! I feel so---free! Now if only I could figure out what it is I would like to do with the rest of my life I would be on the road to success.

If you had a degree in Psychology, what would you do with it?

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

July 14th, 2010 was a really special temple trip. We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah temple to participate in a session while Cara Spohn and Clarence Jessop took out their endowments. We didn't have many opportunities to take pictures because we were totally late when we arrived but what we have will just have to do.

Way neat thing: The person I went through the temple for was from Linares, Chile (where my last mission companion was from--Ana Maria Bustamante) and her last name was Quezada which is the married last name of my friend Lauren, whose husband is from Chile.

After the temple we went to Olive Garden with the Spohns in celebration of the upcoming marriage of Cara and Clarence! (A post on this to come...)

Vernal Temple

July 6, 2010...Bella's first road trip! (My car) We drove her the 3 1/2 hours to Vernal, Utah to do a session at the temple. It was dry and hot and there's not much out in that region of the world but some parts of the drive are really beautiful areas. Especially this year since the mountains and everything are so green on account of all the snow we received. (And YES we're still bitter that we had snow until June...even if good things have come from it!!!)

While in the temple we sat down in the chapel and I looked around and realized that not only was I the youngest person by 50 years (minus my Mom of course) in the room...but my Mom was extremely young in this crowd too! Really young! I would be willing to venture out and say we were definitely outsiders in this room full of elderly farmers but nonetheless the people were so kind to us and we enjoyed the opportunity to experience one of the Lord's houses that neither of us had attended before.

A neat fact about the Vernal temple: It was built in 1907 and then remodeled in 1997.