The Story of Rosie

2 Weeks!!

Today, I wrote the last letter I will write Rosie while she is on a mission. How neat is that??

Today when I was running, I realized that you blog followers know that Rosie is my greatest pal who is on a mission, but you probably don't know the story behind mine and Rosie's friendship. So here it goes, story time!!

When I was a Freshman in college, Rosie moved into my apartment complex. She was had some mutual friends with my roommate, so we decided to invite her to start doing stuff with us. We all thought Rosie was SUPER legit, because she had just gotten back from modeling in JAPAN! Yep, she is legit like that. From the time she was like 15, Rosie modeled for Elite Model Agency in many areas of the world. We all loved to brag about our model friend, and she loved having new friends so it all worked out great! Throughout the semester, Rosie and I hung out daily. We were the only ones out of our group that didn't have a job, so we sat around A LOT (oh to be a Freshman again...) and goofed off. We all loved Rosie so much that we asked her to move in with us our Sophomore year. 

Sophomore year came and we all moved in together. Rosie and I got off to a rough start. We didn't click AT ALL. We were in many of the same classes, and we were both SUPER competitive. We would argue and annoy each other constantly. There were times when I would straight up tell Rosie not to talk to me, because I had no interest in engaging in a conversation with her. I even told her that she was my arch enemy. We just didn't click and we saw the world VERY differently. I struggled that semester, because Rosie and I had so much friction at times. Halfway through the semester, I decided to implement a new strategy. I was going to fake it until I made it...meaning I was going to fake loving her until I actually did love her. This was VERY tough for a few weeks...but pretty soon...I LOVED my friend Rosie. We had a BLAST together and  became very close friends when I moved back up to Utah County that next semester. 

My Junior year in college, I moved up to Logan. This year was one of the hardest years of my entire life. I struggled with many challenges and lost many friends. During this year, the only constant person I had was Rosie. Rosie and I would talk daily about my struggles and we would discuss what I could do to change things. She didn't necessarily fix my problems, but she gave me the support that I sought for in a friend. She loved me unconditionally, which was EXACTLY what I needed at that point. The last 6 weeks before she went on her mission, we were BEST PALS! We goofed off and went on many adventures. I became her "dating coach" and taught her how to flirt with guys. We would go to random parties in Provo and make new friends. It was one of the funnest times of my life. After Rosie left, my life distinctly changed. I don't really know what happened, but people started telling me how happy I looked, and I was! I had learned how to be happy and gained a testimony for the first time in nearly 5 years since Byron died. Rosie was a great example to me and by her example, I changed my life and became a happy person again. 

I don't know if Rosie knows how much she changed my life just by loving me and being my friend, but she truly did. Our friendship worked, because it was built with love. It wasn't easy to love Rosie at first, but when I opened my heart to the opportunity, it was harder NOT to love Rosie. Our friendship contains a mutual love and acceptance for one another...which is what everyone truly wants. 

So if you learn 2 lessons from the story of Rosie and I, learn these: 

1. Never pass up the opportunity to love someone by deciding to hate them first. 

2. You never know how much unconditionally loving and accepting someone can change their life. 

Okay, enough jabber. Here are some fun pictures of Rosie and I: 

 Sophomore Year

Jr. Year

 This was when Rosie and I learned about the "secret" menu at Jamba!

 My last weekend at Dixie

Rosie is in the pic, can you find her??

At stadium of fire about 2 days before she left

Freshman year

Dixie Christmas Party

 Freshman Year

I am soooo proud! I got a letter yesterday from Rosie telling me she ran a Thanksgiving 10K! We are going to do a half together when she gets back!!

Thanksgiving Time

This week has been a blur. So many activities all packed into just a few days! Thanksgiving was great. Good food, good people, and a beautiful day! Shannon and I busted out 5 miles before our big feast. Then the whole family came over for the big dinner and the annual "say what you are thankful for". Don't worry, I said I was thankful for Diet Coke! I also somehow still sat at the kid's table. I am guessing I will forever be at the kid's table! It might be because my six year old niece is more mature than I am. After the festivities, we ran up to Park City to shop the black Friday sales ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. I don't know why we put ourselves through it every year, but I was WAY more sore after shopping than the Half Marathon I just did. It seriously is HARD CORE. When we got back from PC, Alex and I went on a fun double date bowling (I didn't take any pics of the night, sorry!) Today, Alex and I went running (he DOMINATED me and never goes running) and then spent the evening doing many activities with our Australian friend, including getting "mocktails" at Spark in Provo. It has been a GREAT break! Not much sleep has been happening, but I have LOVED spending time with great people and getting a little break before the last few weeks of school! Here's some pics....

The Cool People Table

Dave

Austy

My gorgeous sister!!

Patrick and Allie

Rylie- Can you believe how big she is getting?!?! It makes me so sad!!

Sisters!

Jack saying "Cheese!"

Rylie LOOOVES Grandma

This is when Jack was lecturing my mom that he wasn't going to smile or say "Happy Thanksgiving". He was sick of taking pictures and wanted to play with his car.

My running buddy!

My bestest friend

Savannah LOVED Caroline

Our Mocktails. Nice Peace sign Alex (he knows how much I HATE cliche peace sign pictures)

Cheers!!

It's getting to the time of year where I HATE pictures, because I am so white. Don't expect as many pictures for the next three or four months!!

Where a kid can be a KID!

Day #1 of Thanksgiving Break = SUCCESS!

Alex and I took Kali and his little sister Ella to Chuck E. Cheese and Menchies. It was a fun day, but I am wiped out! Kids wear me out way more than running or school does!

This kid was pretty lucky and got lots of tickets!

Kali and Ella

Alex was such a good brother to spoil his sister!

Prizes!

All the girls! This is my friend from Australia, who is visiting us for the next month or so!

Ella was loving these poppers

Alex and I 

Such a fun day!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Diet Coke Reunion!!

So remember when I got that TERRIBLE idea to quit drinking pop?? Well, I surrendered to my tough competitor Alex yesterday. I woke up with a HUUUUGE headache that I haven't been able to shake for about a week and finally gave in. 

Alex was a tough competitor and could have probably gone for MONTHS. I didn't stand a chance. So now I owe him a really cool date for his prize. 

Tonight, we went to Applebee's and got coke/diet coke and appetizers as we planned our Thanksgiving Break. It is pretty much going to be super rad, so expect some really cool future posts!

Alex's reunion with Coke. Oh how we've missed it!!

Guess Who...

Taught me how to play Angry Birds on my new phone??

Here's a hint....

Yep, my THREE year old nephew knows how to use my phone better than I do. 

Date Night With THREE!

I am SO lucky. When I go on dates, I go with TWO cool guys instead of one!

Saturday night was super rad. Alex, Michael, and I went to this cool place in Provo that had a lot of tramps and foam pits where you could do cool tricks! I got brave and did some flips, but I wasn't nearly as exciting as the boys. Here's some action shots:

Alex

Michael

A little blurry, but this is Michael

Alex

My awesome dates!

Michael tries to act hardcore sometimes

 

And for your entertainment....I found this little gem!

When Michael and I were little, we got married at Lake Powell. When I was going through my childhood boxes, I found this picture!!

Two Day School/Work Week!! 

Florida!

Wow! What a week! My life is becoming a big blur of craziness these days! This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Florida called AFCPE. Basically, it is where you go to learn about new research in the financial counseling field and learn how to better serve your clients. It was a really cool experience meeting tons of people around the country who have the same passions and interests. I met a lot of graduation school and employer recruits, which was really fun! I roomed with two girls from Florida that were really cute! I had an awesome missionary opportunity with them and was able to discuss my beliefs and my testimony. It made me really excited to move out of Utah for the next few months! It was a GREAT trip, but I am straight up WORN OUT! I didn't take too many pictures, but I took a few from my camera, so here's a few pictures from the trip:

While I was trying my very hardest to act and look like a big kid this week...I still brought my Strawberry Shortcake wallet. I really enjoyed the looks I got when I would pull that sucker out. Alex told me, "That's really cute, but why don't you just tell the muggers you are a naive little girl?" 

This was the view just outside my hotel room window in Jacksonville

The night view was really cool with the blue lights

The Utah State crew. I was BY FAR the youngest person at the conference.

Biggest chocolate cake of my life = HEAVEN

I took this after Alex told me he was at one of my favorite places to eat in Provo. I was so bummed out that I had to sit at a fancy luncheon. By this point in the trip, I was SOOO done acting like a grown up. 

Before I left, Kali said "Kelli call me when you're in the gift shop so I can tell you what I want". WOW! That kid is way too spoiled by her aunt. I got her and Alex these cute little mint tins. 

I am one of those weird people who enjoys running and watching fox news on vacation!

....and watching Fox News on an airplane

Across the bridge, there were really cool colored fountains and AWESOME patriotic music. It was one of my favorite things.

Walking across the bridge (phone shots aren't the best)

 I got back in the middle of the night to my car looking like this. Nothing like getting slapped in the face by reality!

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING WEEK!