These People are the Best!

I've been away from my family for quite some time now. I got home from my mission, then a month later I left for college. I saw them for a month! Not enough time! They're awesome and I totally miss them and love them SO much! With that said, here are some pictures of them.

This is my Dad, my step-mom, my two brothers, and I in Tombstone, Arizona. Dad is a rockstar! He taught me how to work hard and that if you want something, go get it! Plus, he's good at math, and I love math.

This my Mom, step-dad, my brother, Brennan, and I. My Mom is awesome! She's had some rough times and been through a lot, but she always looks at the bright side and she loves her kids!

(P.S.: I look good in this picture. I'm skinny and tan.....what ever happened to that? Lol oh it's probably because you can only see my head.....)

These are my brothers. Tony, then me, then Brennan. They're cool.....I guess. No, they are both awesome and I love them to death. We didn't always get along (and we have video to prove it) but we love each other and I am so glad that they are both my brothers.

This is my best friend, Bryan. Yes, he's family, and I know that he'll always have my back. He and I have a blast when we're together! (In this picture there are 2 black ladies behind us on the roller coaster.....they were SO annoying!) Oh yeah, we love roller coasters and amusement parks - especially Six Flags Magic Mountain.

This is Bree. Oh Bree. Lol! She has been one of my best friends since freshman year in high school. Our hobbies include singing and dancing in the car and looking like idiots in public. We're pretty much awesome! She's the one on Santa's lap, not actually Santa. What kind of Santa throws up a peace sign? A cool Santa!

This is Kendra. She too is one of my best friends. She liked me even when I had that hideous rat on my face that was supposed to be a mustache, facial hair if you will. She has been to hell and back and she is SO strong and such an amazing person!

Personable? I guess so!

On Sunday, I had a ward mission meeting. During some down time, the second counselor in the Bishopric asked me, "you struggle with anxiety, right?" I replied, "yeah I do." He then said, "then why are you like the most personable person ever?" Wow, am I really? I've been a very shy person in my life. I haven't always been talkative or outgoing or even personable as the second counselor put it. It gave me an opportunity to look back and think of what changed me. Why am I not shy anymore? I mean, it used to be that once I got to know you, I loved you instantly, but now, I don't have to get to know you in order for me to be real and open with you.

After thinking about it, I changed a lot on my mission. I went from being the guy who didn't talk much to being the guy who was the loudest in the room all the time. What an incredible realization that was for me! Yeah, I suffer from anxiety, but that's just a minor bump in the road now. It used to be huge, but we've moved past that and things are different. Of course I still have issues with it at times, but they don't define me like they used to. You want a moral from that story? Go on a mission! You're missing out on something that will make you SO much better. Maybe it will make you more outgoing or social. Maybe it will make you a more spiritual person. Maybe it will help you budget or manage your time better. Whatever it may be, a mission will change you!

With that new-found openness and ability to be more social, I love BYU-Idaho. I've probably said it a million times, but I do! We went sledding last night for Family Home Evening. Being from Arizona, I may have gone sledding 2, 3, maybe 4 times in my life. Afterwards, I had snow in my face, my hair, down my pants, in my shirt, and everywhere in between, and it was a BLAST!!! I've made great friends here. I sure do miss the friends that aren't here in Rexburg with me, but life is good and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tired and Busy.....

School is rough! I am beat, exhausted, tired, and may go crazy at some point before the end of the semester. No just kidding, I won't go crazy. So, I take an anti-anxiety medicine (now you're thinking, 'oh maybe he will go crazy.....' I won't. Promise.) because I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I'm starting to think that that may be contributing to my increased fatigue. I'm workin' on it. We'll see what happens.

In my ward here on campus, I am a ward missionary. When I first got the calling, I thought to myself, 'we're at a school with a bunch of Mormons, why do we need a ward mission? Especially if of the 60 non-members on campus, none of them are in our ward. How is this gonna work?' Since I was called, I have been attending mission prep class for Sunday School. I love going to mission prep!!!!! I know that I am not preparing for a mission (been there, done that), but I seriously just find so much happiness in helping these young men prepare to go on missions. They're gonna be rockstars in the mission field! Especially if they're attending BYU-Idaho and going to mission prep every Sunday before their missions?! Oh yeah, they'll do great!

SO embarassed.....

Okay, I was walking through the Manwaring Center on campus today, and as I was walking down the stairs, I slipped and fell down a whole flight of stairs!!! Aca-awkward! It was SO embarassing! No one was laughing though, which is nice, but it still left me a little flustered and totally embarassed, not to mention super sore and bruised. My whole right side is in pain.

New friends :)

In the church, we usually do something called Family Home Evening on Monday nights. Here at BYU-Idaho, they put you into FHE groups. Today, my roommates and I got assigned our group and we had such a blast! Our group consists of my roommates and myself and the girls who live in the house next door to us. Tonight was so much fun and I look forward to Monday nights with these awesome people!

Holy cold!

There she is! The bustling metropolis of Rexburg, Idaho.....

First Sunday in Rexburg

Today, we went to church. The day started with interviews with Bishop. His name is Bishop Dennis and he is a super nice guy! In our interview, he kept asking if I could be a ward clerk or an executive secretary. I got a little scared afterwards.....who knows.

Fast and testimony meeting was great! The testimonies were so sweet and wonderful! In the student wards, you don't get those people that get up and take 20 minutes to tell you how their dog did a funny trick and it helped them gain a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing weird like that. It was very spiritual and I can tell that I will like this new ward and this new place. It might be hard at first, but I WILL get used to it and I WILL like it here.

Since senior year in high school, Kendra and I have been friends. In that period of time, she became one of my best friends. She's still one of my best friends! She was here in Rexburg for the weekend and she will be leaving tomorrow morning. I am going to miss her SO much! She's going to school at BYU in Provo, Utah. She's so much fun and I will miss her Mormon mom haircut LOL!