It's 10:30...

and I'm going to bed. I just had to mark this day down in history.

Happy 4th of July!

What a great weekend! I was able to go home with most of my family to spend time together and celebrate our nation's birthday. Maybe I'll eventually get pictures of us on the 4th, but I just wanted to say how grateful I am to live in this country and for the many blessings we enjoy. I know that I definitely take things for granted a lot, and things aren't perfect, but we enjoy so much here.

I am also very grateful for those who have given so much throughout the years in the cause of freedom. Working with war veterans last year gave me a whole other perspective on the sacrifices that so many have made for us to live here and have the rights and freedoms that we do. Thank you to all those who have, who are, and will serve this great country.


"Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Coonstitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever." D&C 109:54

Happy Birthday America

Update on my life

Well, I guess since I've posted about all the other dilemma's, I guess I should update everyone on the new turn of events. Shortly before leaving for my trip, I had an interview with Wasatch Mental Health. This was for the job that I was kind of hoping for all along. Then I left on my trip and got a phone call right as I was walking on the plane in Phoenix. They offered me the job and I took it. So, I started that today. (It's a little bit rough since I just got home yesterday, but what do you do.) So I guess I have a pathway chosen and am now continuing on with life. I still don't know that I love that it's "career time" in my life. But I guess I have to be a grownup. At least I still get to work with kids! :) So, if you're wondering, I'm working in the YOP - Youth Out Patient - which means I'm a therapist for children and teenagers. I'm pretty much getting thrown right in, so here's to another adventure.

MA cont.

Day 3 - Lexington and Concord

We saw most of the sights in these two towns and the "battle trail" in between. We learned quite a few things about the beginnings of the Revolutionary War that we didn't know before.

This is the Battle Green in Lexington. This cute little old man told us all about that fateful night of the "shot heard 'round the world".
This is the Old North Bridge in Concord.


Concord is also home to Sleep Hollow. Oooooo.... Super fun! :) We did go there. Didn't see any headless horsemen. But we did get to see the graves of Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Day 4 - Cambridge

What a beautiful house! This is the house that belonged to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was amazing! We got to tour through it and learn more about the man and hear a lot of his poetry. It was actually super cool!

The Boston Temple! I have this on day 4 because this is when I got the picture. We were actually able to go to the temple on day 1 of the trip, but didn't have a lot of opportunities for picture taking time. So, when we went past it again, we stopped to try to get some good ones. It's a beautiful temple!

So, there's a very brief recap of the trip. Hope it was enjoyable!

An All-American City....

Well, I just got back from a short little trip to Boston! Okay, more than just Boston really. What a grand adventure. I went with my mom and with my roommate Pam. We flew out last Wednesday and were supposed to fly back on Monday. Sadly, the weather didn't fully cooperate and we spent Monday night stranded in the airport in NYC and got back yesterday. Needless to say, we were a bit exhausted, but we had a fun time nevertheless. So here are a few pictures of the trip!

Day 1 - Plymouth, MA

This is Plimoth Plantation. And yes, that's how they really spell it. Even if they spell everything else Plymouth. This is set up as if it was 1627 and the Pilgrims were starting to get settled in. They had people dressed up as characters who also acted as if they were some of the real people that came across on the Mayflower. It had a beautiful view as well, right on the coast!

Here's my mom and I by the Plymouth Rock sign. Sadly, they were doing construction on the edifice that covers the rock, so we didn't get to see it. We had to get a postcard instead. :)

This is the Mayflower II. It's what they think the Mayflower looked like and is run the same, etc. So we got to go on a little tour of it. Pretty exciting!

Day 2 - Boston!

Okay, it's a little difficult to decide which pictures to put on here. There's so many! We went on the Freedom Trail which takes you to most of the historical sights in Boston. We saw Boston Commons, many different old churches, graves of John Hancock, Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and others, new and old state houses, Paul Revere's house, the site of the Boston Massacre, Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, and other places as well.

This is the State House - or the capital building. We were there just 2 days after the Celtics won the NBA finals, and the city was still celebrating!

This is Fanueil Hall with a statue of Samuel Adams in front. Go google it if you want to know the importance of it. :)
This is a statue of Paul Revere in front of the Old North Church - the church where lanterns were hung to signal that the British were coming. Then Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride.

Champions

Yesterday I went down to Nephi with my sister and bro-in-law to see my nephews play in their championship baseball game. Of course, they won, and of course my nephews were a big part of it! :) It's really true because a good number of the outs were because of these two. Woohoo!

Here's Jeff and Jared with their trophies!
And with me. :)

And action shot of Jeffrey running from second base after hitting a nice double.

This is Jared out in the outfield. This was the coolest play. He got the ground ball and threw it to Jeffrey at second base for the out. Good teamwork!

Spending my days....

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. I don't really feel like much of anything has happened in the last month. (Other than the fabulousness of Disneyland!) I can't believe I've been out of school for a month. For those wondering, still no job yet. I have had a couple of offers, but they just didn't feel like they were the places for me to be at this point in time. So we'll see what happens with a couple of others coming up. In the meantime, I'm just chillin'. It's actually been really nice. I've been able to read (books I enjoy and not textbooks).

(Yup, I read Harry Potter all over again. It's so great!)

I'm reading 1776 right now, in preparation for my trip to Boston! Wahoo!

I've actually done quite a bit of family history stuff. I've visited family and played with friends and just had fun.

Here are a couple of pictures of one of our adventures. There is a flower bed on the south side of our apartment complex. Of course, the grounds keepers don't do anything. So, we decided to plant flowers! We went to Home Depot and went crazy and bought a bunch of different things. Hopefully they'll continue to grow!

Yay for summer!

I'm going to Disneyland!!!! (I mean I went... :)

Well, it was such great fun to answer the question that everyone gave me around graduation time of "What are you doing now?" "I'm going to Disneyland!!!!!" Last week, my family and I headed off for sunny California (although not entirely sunny while we were there) and had ourselves a magical adventure! I haven't been to Disneyland in 11 years. I don't remember it being quite so fun. But it really was. We had lots of kids with us, which made all the little kid rides exciting and fun too. (And I guess the adults were pretty okay themselves. :) It was such a great time and I kind of wish I could just go back. I didn't think about Provo or life decisions or anything for the whole week! So here are a few pictures to see some of the enjoyment. This will only be a very very small taste - I don't think blogs have enough room for all of the pictures. :)

None other than Mickey Mouse himelf. He totally gave me a kiss on the cheek when I left. ;)

Appropriate mouse ears I thought.With mom and dad

With most of my nieces and nephews. Just missing four of them in this picture.

Okay, I have to be honest. Goofy is probably my favorite!

Playing the "goofwin"

The Grizzly River Run at California Adventure Park

Splash Mountain!

So, there's just a little taste of the magic. Hope you enjoyed the ride!

Graduation!

Wow. It actually came. Who would have thought it would actually end. :) The last two days have been graduation. And it's really been a good couple of days. A little overwhelming perhaps, but good. Thursday was the University Commencement (everyone in the Marriott Center). My mom and dad came up for that. Go figure that it was snowing before we went in. But afterwards, it was nice and sunshiny. How's that for typical Utah weather. All the graduates inside the Marriott Center.With mom and dad

Sitting by a fountain :)

And of course, dad wanted a picture of the hood because it looks refined and distinguished. :) (Okay, funny joke. For real, the paper that came with the hood as instructions for how to wear it said this: "Upon receiving your gown and academic hood, you'll want to put it on to admire your distinguished and refined look." ha ha!)

Friday was our day - the Social Work Dept.

Three of my classmates (and friends) and I were able to do a musical number for graduation. L-R, Angela Irving, Sandra Wilkes, me, and Brynn Bell. We sang "Not Too Far From Here", which I really think is the perfect social work song and really is why we do what we do.

Being hooded by Dr. Marett and Dr. Panos

Receiving my diploma from Dr. Seipel

Here's the family that was able to come. Grandpa Farnsworth, dad, mom, Janell and Steven. I know others wanted to be there, but couldn't make it. But I'm still very grateful to all of my family. I've been extremely blessed with a fantastic family and I know they were all there in spirit. :)

Okay, I know this post is getting a little long. But I have to put at least one, maybe 2, pictures of my class on here. I have to say, this is probably the greatest class in the world. I realize that we've spent beyond normal amounts of hours together - classes, studying, internships, etc. But we've all grown so close and it has been my family away from my family these last two years. They're an amazing group of people, and they've all blessed my life. I'm definitely going to miss them. It's not quite real to me yet that we won't be going back. But I hope they all know how grateful I am to them for their friendships, the things they have taught me, and the people they are. Go MSW Class of 2008!

With some of our great professors!

History turns on small hinges, and so do people's lives

"Decisions determine destiny." So, I realized that today was my second to last day of class. Ever. That's a little bit strange to think about. I'm graduating in two weeks. And really, school is pretty much the only thing I've ever known. I took a break for the mission. But even then, I started school again within 2 weeks of being home. So it's pretty much been my life. And now it's going to be over. Which of course brings up the commonly asked question of "what are you doing after graduation?" Honestly, I really don't know. I never planned my life this far. It's time to enter the real world and become a real adult. But where and how? It brings up a lot of questions about my life's mission and what I was sent here to accomplish. I really hope that I don't miss that. But I know that I have to move forward. So I'm working on that. It's been very interesting to see how things have been playing out in this decision process. I'm grateful for the no's that Heavenly Father has given me because then I at least know those are not the things for me to do right now. And then other possible paths close. Apparently those aren't the right ones either. I almost feel like I'm standing at a crossroad that most of the roads have closed off. I feel sure that there are other roads that maybe I just can't see. Or maybe that one road that still might be open is the one I'm supposed to take. I'm not sure if I want it or not, but who knows?

Anyway, I think that I'm rambling. But obviously, this is on my mind a little bit lately. (Or maybe more than a little.) I do believe that things will work out. Amazingly, they always do. But the growing process of waiting and testing and trying always seems to come first. So here I am, still praying and pondering and hoping that I will allow the Lord to open my eyes to the "right" road. Until then....