Thanksgiving and then I Finished!

Yep, I am finished with my bachelor's degree! I haven't had time to post since Thanksgiving though, so I will write about all my adventures up until I graduated in order to fill you in.

MYSTERY DINNER

I had to dress up like an old lady because Speedy and I were the parents of victim. This was as good as I could come up with, a tight bun, glasses, and old-looking woman sweater...people may have not thought I even dressed up. 

We went to a house where no one currently lives and had a multiple course dinner. It was awesome and super delicious! The case was pretty confusing and none of us guessed correctly, but I enjoyed trying to figure it out. I had a lot of fun and it was cool to see Speedy with all of his cousins. It was a last minute date, but a good one. 

THANKSGIVING BREAK

I went up to Grandpa's on Tuesday and enjoyed spending the time with him, Mom, Papa, and Sisterbug. It was different because Sisterbug, 19, was the youngest person there! Usually there are several little kids running everywhere all the time. I enjoyed the mental and physical break though. It was strange being in Virginia without Grandma, I kept expecting her to come back. I miss her so much, but I know she is making a difference on the other side and working hard. 

We had enough food to feed 5000 people on Thanksgiving day, so we ate til our hearts and stomachs were content. Instead of playing basketball or football, we went on a walk after dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Studley went and watched football and Grandpa went back to his house for a rest. It was fun walking with Auntie K and Uncle J. There was also a John Wayne marathon on the western channel, so we watched a few of those movies and played a game or two. Overall, it was a very happy Thanksgiving!

The center piece cornucopia and the oreo turkey that was delicious! 

We had some good target practice with Sisterbug's nerf guns. We built these towers and tried to knock the people off without knocking the tower down. Sisterbug's towers always stayed up longer than mine...but, they were also usually shorter. :) It was a fun evening. We even got Grandpa to join us for a bit!

My tower is on the left.

Grandpa getting ready to fire!

Again, mine on the left.

Grandpa is learning how to cook and how to cook things that are easy and taste different than Grandma's because no one can imitate her cooking. So, I taught him how to make cake mix cookies one morning while we were there. I think they are easy enough and would be a fun treat. I enjoyed teaching him and it was so cute to see him write down little notes on how to do it. He's such a great man!

Cooking lessons.

I had never been to a festival of trees before, and the high school was putting one on along with a talent show to raise money for scholarships. I was very impressed with the talents and the beautiful trees. There were some people who could really sing and really play the piano. Incredible! I can never get a picture of Grandpa because he hates them, so I took this one while he wasn't looking then he moved and said, "Are you taking a picture of me?!" I laughed, said no way, and sent it out to the family only to get a complaint that his face was blurry...sorry.

Do you want to build a snowman? 

Grandpa and Sisterbug

We all left on Sunday and I drove to Centerville with Grandpa and enjoyed dinner with the Vawdrey's. We had a lot of fun and ate tons of yummy food. Cousin and her hubby came and they told us they were having a baby!!!! I am so excited for them! They even got to tell Grandma before she passed and Grandma got really excited and said she hopes the baby has red hair, sounds just like Grandma. I ended up staying the night in Mapleton because I wasn't ready to go back to school and normal life yet. Plus, I got to spend more time with family. Berlin and Tanner were there and they both got up on my lap and let me read them books. I loved it! 

Overall, I loved my break and I was sad to go back. I loved being with family, especially Grandpa to hopefully make the break a little easier on him. 

DECORATIONS

Reader loves decorations, and she always does something for the holidays. This year, she made snowflakes and put up lights, covered an entire wall in Christmas paper, hung ornaments from the ceiling, and decorated the door. I was impressed and it looked great. I did have a Christmas tree I got from Grandma my freshman year, so I put it up and I think it fit in well.

And, the little apple bears Grandma made.

RICE KRISPIE SCULPTURES

Reader and neighbor wanted to throw a party of some type, but it was a little last minute. We ended up making rice krispie sculptures and playing games. It was a lot of fun! Speedy and Broad were the only ones that were free and able to join us. We enjoyed the evening and stayed up way to late. We learned some new games and had a small group, which was a good change in pace.

My igloo and penguins who live there...yes, the igloo is hallow.

SHRUB'S BIRTHDAY

I am so lucky to have been here for another of Shrub's birthdays. She is so awesome and she let me make her a cake again. It turned out smashingly well. It was super rich and delicious. We surprised her by going to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was awesome! I loved it. We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed looking at Christmas lights for the rest of the evening.

Maybe we waited a little too long to blow them out... :)

The Draper park put on a show that was pretty impressive. They had a giant tree they called the tree of life, and it looked like it! It must have had thousands of lights and it was breathtaking. At the park, they also had this awesome game where you would stand in the middle of these bars and there are speakers at different heights that light up. You press the start button and music is surrounding you. When a speaker lights up, you karate kick or punch the specific ones. I had a blast and it was pretty awesome to see people start playing after we had finished. As we left the park, an old lady with walker who had asked us when we arrived how to play had dragged her husband into it and they had started to play!

HOMETEACHERS
They again came to save the day. I was feeling rotten right before finals, I wasn't sure how I was going to get everything done. I prayed for help and determined to ask them for a blessing. One of them was busy, and one came with a friend to help me out. I was so grateful and felt so much better the next day. The hometeacher that wasn't able to come brought by this note later that evening, I was touched and greatly needed the hug he offered.

FINALS WEEKS
I didn't just have one week, I had two. I was overworked and way stressed the week before finals and during. I had projects, papers, and finals all due on the same day and around the same time...plus, working which took away an entire day. I survived though. I made it through and I was so grateful I got good grades too. The Lord was in the details those last two weeks. I was exhausted, not sleeping well, and didn't know where to spend my time. I was guided and directed as I put Him first. Miracle after miracle took place and I am so grateful.

Turning in my last major project! 

Last day of classes! 

Animal Cracker Story - see below.

So, I was having a pretty horrible no good dirty rotten day. I went to WallyWorld to get some cash back for Dilly, so I decided to pick up some animal crackers and some Christmas presents. They didn't have any animal crackers and I was almost to the point of tears...I hadn't had much luck with the presents either. Earlier that day I had taken my debit card out of my wallet to do some shopping on campus. I didn't put it back in and didn't realize until I was at the register! I had a mini freak out session and had enough cash to pay for it. I really could have cried by that point. A few days later I found 3 bags on the shelf and was so happy to put my life back together one bag of animal crackers at a time.

After the first week of finals, I was so beat, I just stayed at my Auntie G's house all day just chatting with her. We hadn't been able to talk much and I missed seeing her. I was out that way giving a presentation so I just decided to party with her all day long. I think taking the day off helped me be prepared for studying and doing well on the rest of the finals. I also got to eat on campus in the Sky Room with Uncle D which helped me feel energized for my last final.

I finished my final, seeing this page made me so happy!!!

I also got my own Christmas goodie plate, I felt super cool! How many people can say they get that when they aren't married...or even if they are. I was happy about it. Thank you Shrub and Brolaw!

CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE
Co-chair and I decided we wanted to do something awesome with the money we had left over in the budget. We reserved Aspen Grove for a fancy dinner, white elephant, games, and spiritual thought. We had 121 people come. That is the highest attendance ever to a ward activity! We had so much fun and I enjoyed seeing people interact. Everything went so smoothly and I think people enjoyed it. I got a fancy little wallet out of the ordeal and others got a porcelain goose and other random objects. I wish I had pictures to document the night, but I didn't take any.

One reason I think we got so many people was because we sent a personalized text message to every single person in the ward. We entered their name and sent the same text to everyone. It took me, Speedy, Co-chair, and committee member about 45 minutes. I was grateful for everyone's help and I used someone else's phone to do it which was even better!

Funny story: I asked a person on my committee to help us find someone who we wanted to be at the activity to perform the spiritual musical number at the activity. He said he was down and went to figure out who he could invite. A few days later, I got a text from a random ward member and they were asking me if I wanted to participate in the musical number at the activity! Begrudgingly, I agreed. I enjoyed singing and I was happy to find out that my committee member had done what I had asked and the random ward person who invited me not knowing of the delegation. I laughed pretty hard because I tried to delegate and ended up doing it. Co-chair told me I should have said no, but I am grateful I didn't.

COMING SOON
I will be coaching a basketball team next semester!!! Eeeee! I can't wait! :) I will be coaching Kaymster and a team of 5th and 6th grade girls. It is going to be a party!! The season lasts two months, with one practice and one game every week.

I GRADUATED
Grades came through now, and I can officially say I have graduated! I am excited for the next adventures in my life. What a surprise they will be. I can't wait to learn and enjoy the experiences. What a blessing BYU has been, but I must say I am grateful to be done with homework for a while! Here's what it all looked like as I left my humble abode for the last few years - the Tanner Building.

The Tanner never looked so good!

Peace out.

-the tall girl