The Apple Tree

This summer, I have spent a lot of time watering the garden and the rest of the plants in our backyard-- yet it wasn't until a few days ago that I took a real good look at our apple tree.  I have passed this tree many many times throughout the summer when watering the yard, so it was fun to take time to appreciate this beautiful tree.   My little sister and I took pictures with it and spent some time lying on the grass in the shade this tree provides.  So beautiful!  It has made me feel as though I should make an apple pie-- and I don't even like pie!  

Oh yes, and it's my little sisters birthday today, so here's a shout out to her!  She is such a doll, and I love her so much.  She'll be leaving next month to serve a mission for the LDS church, and I know that she is going to do an awesome job!  Happy Birthday Goober :)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!  I basically failed at blogging all summer, but hey, better late than never.  

Go make someone smile :)

I'm Back :)

Well, hello everyone!  It has been a very long time since I last posted!  I actually was gone serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from October of 2011 until the beginning of this month.  I served in Hungary :)  And it was fantastic!  I loved my mission!  And now I'm back, ready to share more little blessings of life with the world--- the tender mercies that bring so much joy to live.  I can't promise that I will post something every day, but I definitely want to get back into the swing of blogging.

Have a wonderful day!  And go make someone smile :)

In a World of Dance

(I am the yellow shirt to the left, ha)

As many of you know, this past winter semester at BYU, I participated in a dancing company called Kinnect. Last week, before we went to Texas, we had the opportunity to perform at the 100th birthday for the darling Aline Coleman Smith. She is the woman that first brought contemporary dance to BYU. The morning of the day of the performance, I didn't even know the womans name; after our all day rehearsal as a company, I became familiar with her story; by the end of the night, I came to adore the little woman herself. During our performance, she was constantly smiling amongst her friends and family that also attended the party. While we were cleaning up and getting ready to head back home, she spent some precious moments with us in our "dressing room" just visiting and giving us praise for our performance.

I am truly inspired by Aline. At 100 years old, she still does her own laundry, walks with coordination, cooks for herself, and can get by pretty well on her own! Before we even performed, she took it upon herself to make us cookies! What an incredible woman :) I would go on about her history, but if you go to this website, you will be able to read more about her and the experience we, Kinnect, had being with her. (The photos used in this post are from that linked website as well).

The world of dance has so much diversity in it, many areas of legacy, and such a miraculous spirit to it. As Albert Einstein said, "Dancers are the athletes of God". I am so grateful that my parents started me in dance at such a young age so I could experience so much joy while expressing myself through movement! I still find great joy in dancing, and I am touched by the spirits of those that I meet through the means of dance.


(That's me in the yellow shirt back there!)


(That's my head--- bottom center, haha. I promise, I'm dancing;)

Within a Week

I spent this last week in Denton, Texas. It was actually a wonderful place! It was very hot in humid, but considering how I have spent most of my summer inside, I was ready to soak up the heat and sun! I went to Texas for a dance conference put on by daCi (dance and the Child international). While at the conference, I got to take a number of technique classes and ethnic dance classes including African and Bharatanatyam (a style of dance from India). I attended the daCi with my dance company from BYU, Kinnect. We had the opportunity to perform a few times while there. Overall, it was a wonderful conference! I learned so much about the organization daCi itself and I also learned about how dance can impact people on a deeper level, particularly children.
It was a very neat week! I met another Rachel Kimball, so that was crazy! She taught classes during the conference and had a piece in one of the performances, so it was weird for me to see "my" name all over in the intinerary, program, and schedule and such for the week. She was pretty cool :) I was also able to get tickets for us to go see Harry Potter our last night in Denton! It was so fun! Some of us used the bedsheets from the dorms at the university to dress up as house elves, and I provided chopsticks for others to use as wands. It was lovely :)
I was deeply touched by the love I felt from each member of the Kinnect company, including Marilyn, our fearless leader. With all of the testimonies being shared in our group and the service being performed, I felt the love of Christ so strongly in our group of dancers. There were a couple people in Kinnect that especially left an impact on me by the end of the week, and I am so grateful to them for their examples.
Below are a few pictures from the week! I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, but I hope to recieve copies of the pictures that other Kinnect members took :)
Much love

(Me and the other Rachel Kimball at the conference! She's an actual teacher and choreographer ;)

Sun-Kissed Saturdays

There's something about a relaxful day in the sun. Letting your body soak up that vitamin D... feeling carefree as you spend time with family and friends... I don't have these days as often as I wish I did! I see pictures of those people that are blessed with time to be in the sun nearly every day and it appears to me as though they are just so happy and pleased with life!

Earlier this summer, I got to go on a little family trip to Zions National Park. While there, I was able to take my family to a little area where we could play in the water that most people don't know about. As far as I know, the location isn't on any of the maps... but I can't prove that, haha. We spent a lovely afternoon in the sun and playing in the water. Those that know me pretty well know that I do not like fish, and I do not like swimming in water that I don't know what's in it... Now I guess you all know me pretty well ;) My brothers were able to convince me to jump off a little cliff into some dark water.... CREEPY! It was a thrill!!!! And I actually enjoyed it! In order to do this, I needed to clear my mind so I wouldn't think about the potential fish, bugs, and frogs that might be swimming with me. After clearing my mind, I would plunge into the dark hole of water... I can't say that I actually became fully comfortable with this activity, but I did start trying to do little 'tricks' in the air when jumping. It was a good time :)

While I am an adict to the rain and I feel as though I cannot get enough of it, I am also very grateful for the sun. It makes the body feel a certain way that rain doesn't.... I suppose rain does the same thing for the body compared to the sun, ha. I hope to be able to take more days this summer to soak up the sun and just relax and enjoy myself.

Savasana

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 5:55, I wake-up to my alarm. My warm, comfortable bed immediately begins to try swallowing me in order to prevent me from getting up and starting my day. With the warm sheets snug against my body, and my head resting on my ever so soft feather pillow, I immediately begin little debates in my head about whether it's worth it or not to fall back asleep. It's never worth it.
At approximately 6:15, I find myself sitting on my durable purple yoga mat and I am beginning what will be an hour and a half of yoga practice. There are about 15-20 of us that practice yoga together with one fine yoga master (at least I think she's a master) at the front of the room. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes I wonder how in the world these older woman that have been mothers for many years (which is everyone in the room besides me!) are doing everything! Granted, not everyone is at the same level of expertise in our gathering, but it is still impressive to me. I play mind games with myself to help time pass faster so that I won't think about how difficult some of the poses and stretches are. However, despite how much of a challenge going to this early morning yoga practice is, I love it. I love yoga. I love the stretching, the strengthening, the balancing, working the core.... it is wonderful. My favorite part of the whole morning, however, is Savasana.
Savasana is what we do at the end of every yoga practice. We all lay on our yoga mats in the proper Savasana pose, and our teacher goes around the room to give us a little shoulder massage and help us release any tension we may have the the head, neck, and shoulders. It is miraculous.
Side note: At the end of this last winter semester at BYU, two of my dance teachers offered me some wonderful advice when they said that Savasana would be a good practice for me to do every day in order to help me release my upper-body tension.
There is something about the way the soul (body combined with spirit) feels when it is completely relaxed and free of all pressures. I am so grateful for the times that I'm given to just relax and let all of the tension buildup in my body go. As we go through life, we are faced with different challenges and these challenges even come at a variety of levels of difficulty. I believe that it is important for each of us to remember to breathe and take time to relax even during these times of difficulty. As the world around us becomes more and more evil and turns more to the side of the adversary, it is important for us to keep our heads on straight and remain calm in order to keep in mind what's truly important in life.
Yoga isn't the answer to all of life's questions and trials, however I know that I have learned a lot from it. Not only is it an exercise and practice pertaining to the body, but it is also a practice that strengthens the mind and spirit, therefore the whole soul is involved. I encourage each of us to find some sort of daily practice or ritual to make a part of our lives so that we can remain calm and strong during the hard times. Many of us already have daily rituals that we participate in-- personal and family prayer, scripture study, service, going for walks, gardening, cooking, and so on.
Be grateful for the body you have. Treasure it. Protect from the evils in the world today. Challenge yourself with something each day to help protect yourself more and more. Turn off that rotten song on the radio that drives the spirit away. Give up that piece of chocolate when you know that you've already had one too many. Go for a light jog instead of sitting down to watch that pointless T.V. show. Help your mother or other family member with chores around the house when you would rather read a novel.
I am so grateful for the body that I have been given, and while I fail multiple times each day to treat it the best I can, I am continuing to strive to become better day by day. I pray that you all have a marvelous day and at least once today, consider what would be best for your body.

Image link

Serving the Lord

I am very pleased and over-joyed to announce that my older brother got his mission call! He will be serving in the Puebla Mexico Mission!!!! And he leaves August 3rd. This is just super happy :) To be honest, out of all of the friends that I have had leave for missions over the years, my brother was the very first person I have ever witnessed open a mission call. It was very power and super memorable.

I am very excited for my older brother to serve his mission. This fall, I plan to leave on my own mission, and my younger brother is getting set to leave on his mission this year as well. It is unbelieveable!!! Just being there when my brother opened his call was a tender mercy as the spirit manifested once again in my life that this is the true church on the earth, and that Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the head of the Church. I pray for the missionaries every night that they will find those that are ready to hear and receive the gospel. I am so proud of my brother and his desire to serve God for the next 2 years of his life. It is miraculous. I love you bro :)

To My Best Friend

Here's to my Best Friend:

One who has dreams and looks to the future with me.

One who is always happy and ready to have fun!

One who will play dress-ups with me... ;)

One who has taken big steps with me (i.e. graduation)

One who is musically talented :)

One who can be just as awkward as me!

One who (again) will play dress-ups with me... at the mall!!!

One who joins me anywhere-- especially on awkward dates...

One who is always willing to go on an adventure!

One who is just as shocked at our awesomeness as I am ;)

One who likes to eat out at festive restaurants with me.

One who teaches me how to bake.

One who is funny, and always fun to be around :D

One who keeps me close so I don't lose my way.

One who understands my biggest fears (one of those being fish)

One who brings out the best in me.

One who is always full of surprises!!!

One who is a true blessing in my life :)

Thanks for being the best friend I could have ever asked for! When I struggle through trials, you are always there for me with a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, inspiring words of advice, and a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down :) Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Me :)

My Niece :)

Lately, I have been copying pictures from our old family computer to my laptop, and I'll tell you what-- I took tons of pictures in my day!!! And my "day" isn't over, ha, so the will still be buckets more to come :)
Some of the pictures that I was happiest to recover were of my niece. We call her Lucy. Oh my, what a sweetie she is! My parents, siblings and I didn't get to meet her until she was about 2 years old, so for a long time we got to know her through phone calls and pictures. But when she and her mom (my half-sister) and dad moved to Utah, I just got to love her even more! What a cutie she is :)
I Love Lucy

(Watering our plants, haha)

Jackets, Hoodies, and Sweaters

I know that the weather is getting warmer, but something inside of me feels as though I didn't put my jackets, hoodies, and sweaters to the best use this winter. So, in order to feel better about that, I took pictures of me wearing all of them :) There might be a couple I missed that are hiding deep in my closet, but that's alright seeing as how it already took me over a half hour to get through all the others! Here they are :)
(Some of them you can't see very well, but let me know which one is your favorite! I'm just curious...)
Have a happy Thursday!!!!