General Conference and School Lately

So, I don't know about you but I thought General Conference was great! It's so neat to think that what the general authorites are saying was inspired from The Lord. I really enjoyed talks given by Richard G. Scott and Jeffery R. Holland. They were great, and all the talks were very inspiring and motivating. It was amazing!

Anyway, the semester is coming to an end. The last day is on thursday the 9th. This semester has really gone soo fast. I will be home on the 10th! I'm really excited to see my family, but it will end all too soon. I will only be there about a week, and then the spring semester starts. But, I'm glad that I will be here in Rexburg in the summer. I hear it is soo much fun, plus summer is always great!

I'm most excited to see Brendon and Hailey. Its been soo long since I've seen little Brendon, and even though I will only see him for 3-4 days, I'm still excited. I have seen Hailey lately, but she is so cute, and I can't wait to see her again! Well, I hope to see you all soon in good ole' Wisconsin!

Boise and other Fun

Hey friends!

Its been way too long since I last blogged! Anyway, last weekend My roomates, and a friend of Janna's named Haley, went to Boise, Idaho for the weekend. Janna, Haley, and I saw David Archuleta in concert, while the other girls hung out at Emily's house. Oh goodness, David Archuleta is the cutest kid ever. He is so adorable, and he has a certain spirit that just radiates from him! We waited about 4+ hours for the concert, but it was so worth it. When I saw him on stage, I just smiled and remembered how much I loved watching him on American Idol!

Anyway, we also had fun at Emily's house. It is nice to be in an actual home once in a while. Of course the weekend ended too soon, and we left sunday morning at 7am. Little did we know that the weather would be nuts! Snow, sun, rain, sleet, and hail! We had a couple close calls, but we made it in one piece. I guess I slept through it all haha. But we were thankful to Heavenly Father that we made it!

So the weather in Rexburg is crazy too! The day we left for Boise, a bunch of us girls layed in the courtyard in shorts and t-shirts, just soaking up the rays. Today, it was hailing and snowing. Its crazy but all is well.

I signed up for my summer classes: World Civilizations, History/Philosiphy of Education, Communications, Health and Wellness, New Testament, The American Epidemic (diabetes, heart disease, obesity), and Women's glee. I had to put a fun class in there somewhere, and I love to sing! I'm pretty excited for summer semester. I heard that summer in Rexburg is tons of fun! Plus I'm going to have a car out here, which should be even better because that means more road trips!

Well this semester is coming to a close fast, and I will be in Wisconsin for a little more than a week in between semesters! I'm pretty excited about that!

This is me, Janna, and Haley waiting for the David Archuleta concert!

Catch Up.

Hey Friends!
California was so great! It was so great to see Ricky, Katie, and Miss Hailey. Let me tell you, she is a doll! She is growing up fast. She is about 4 1/2 months now. She will melt your heart, no doubt about it.

Well, with Ricky at work most of the day, Katie, Hailey, and I hung out at their apartment. We organized Hailey's room a bit, packing away old clothes that she has outgrown,re-arranging clothes in her dresser, etc. I love doing stuff like that, I know, i'm strange. haha. I also helped Katie go through her closet. We got a few bag full of things, which she then sold at a store called Plato's Closet. She got some pretty good money for the stuff. Don't worry I got paid as well..Katie gave me some treasures of my own from her closet. haha.

Other days were filled with a trip to In/Out Burger, cooking yummy dishes that we grew up with, taking naps in their HUGE, comfy bed with little Hailey Buttons in the middle of us, scrapbooking, going through pictures, laughing about old memories, listening to each other, and on the last night me and Kates went to the movie, Confessions of A Shopaholic. It was such a cute chick flick, and soo clean! Its relieving to see a good clean movie now and then.

Anyways, well of course like all trips, it ended way to soon, and I had to say good-bye. I cried, twice! haha. Me and Katie loved our time together, and hopefully I will be back there soon. Its funny how growing up, sure we got along most of the times, but now being older, we are sooo close. We talk on the phone everyday, and are the best of friends.

Well, since I've been back from the trip, I've been doing all sorts of things. Sammi has been attached to my hip since. All of my roomates are out of town this weekend, Janna and Em are in Boise, and Megan went to Roseville, CA. So Sammi moved in for the weekend, and we have been having a great time. We have scrapbooked countless hours, grocery shopped, watched movies, talked, and tommorrow we have stake conference. Its been really fun, and I love the time me and Sammi share. She is not only a cousin, but a dear friend, that is close to my heart. She's my bestie! haha.

California here I come!

Hello Friends!

Its been another good week in Rexburg, Idaho!

On Monday Night, my roomies, and anoter friend and I all went to swim in the pool on campus. It was soo fun. Its free, good exercise, and a fun place to socialize.

On Tuesday night Emily, Megan and I went to the cannery in Idaho Falls for our stake's assignment. We canned chicken noodle soup. It was soo much fun. Me and Emily put noodles in the can as they went down on some machinery towards the broth. It was like a cute factory! We had fun playing 20 questions with eachother and we're glad that we could be of service to the less fortunate. Plus, we got a good laugh looking at each other in our "outfits." We wore rubber boots, aprons and hair nets. And let me tell you, we worked those hair nets!

Wednesday and Thursday I had class like usual. Sammi also came home from Utah on Wednesday, and it has been a reunion ever since. We 've both decided we wanted to scrapbook lots of pictures, so off to Porter's we went. We have been at it all weekend! And the pages are soo cute

Friday I gave plasma, and then me and Sammi walked around Rexburg! We loved it! Then we set up scrapbook camp in my room! Great fun it was as we listened to our Disney music! haha. The rest of the weekend has consisted of hanging with roomies, Sammi, and some of Janna and Emily's friends from their home towns. Candy and movies have also been in the mix of course! haha.

The highlight is the title of course! Yes, I am going to California to visit Ricky, Katie, and Hailey! I leave on Thursday, and will be there until Tuesday. It will be a good trip! I just want to hold Miss Hailey! Goodness, she is a cutie! Here is a few of her Valentines pics:

The Latest in the Life of Lauren

Hello friends.
Life in Idaho is great as usual. Hmm, well lets see, whats new in my life? I guess I'll start with school. I really enjoy Child Development! It is a fun class, and it is soo amazing to think about the life process and what a miracle it is! I am awe-struck to think that a single tiny cell, can become a fully-formed baby! I learn so much in that class, and hopefully it will help me when I have kids of my own some day.

Book of Mormon is my other class I have, and let me tell you that it is wonderful! I enjoy reading the scriptures, and as my teacher would say, digging for doctrinal diamonds. haha. But really, I look forward to that class and to the discussions we have in there. I also enjoy scripture study that my roomates and I have together every night, or most nights. I can tell a big difference when we read together. It is a great experience where we are closer to each other, and the spirit is felt in our little apartment.

On tuesday the 3rd, it was my old neighbor from last semester's birthday, and we went to TGI Friday's in Idaho Falls. The girls that were my neighbors moved off campus, in Birch Plaza, but we still get to see them quite often, and we love hanging out with them. They are Florencia, Heather, and Lauren Crain. In the past week, we have seen them a lot. Last friday, we went to an 80's dance party with them and it was a lot of fun! We got decked out in leggings, side pony-tails, cut-off sweaters, and leg warmers. All in all, it was a blast, and we definetly got our dance on. Then on sunday we went to their house to watch a little bit of the superbowl, and then the new office show. Let me tell ya, I never really watched The Office, until I came to Idaho and these girls got me hooked. There was much laughter! Then like I said, on tuesday was Florencia's birthday. It was a lot of fun, and I even was able to meet up with Stefanie! It has been a while since we really have been able to hang out. She has two jobs now, and that takes up a lot of time, so it was good to catch up with her. Anyways, if all goes well in the fall I will probably live with the girls I mentioned earlier!

Donating plasma has gone pretty good. Two times a week I get up and walk down to the Center with my good buddy Ryan. It doesn't take too long, and it really helps out financially. And of course I get a sweet neon-colored bandage to wear on my arm for a while. haha. Anyways, no major problems with the procedure yet, and hopefully there won't be.

Last friday, I went to the temple with my roomate Megan. It was a great experience. I hadn't gone to the temple in such a long time, and it was great to be in the house of the Lord. The Rexburg temple is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm glad that I can serve someone who is waiting in the spirit world for their work to be done. Some of the people I did work for only had first names, which makes me think that they have been long gone. It makes me happy that they finally are able to have the opportunity to be apart of Christ's church. Right now the Temple is closed for the next two weeks, but I hope to go more frequently when it opens again.

I also really enjoy my student ward, and devotional. This past week. The former temple President and Matron of the Salt Lake City Temple. They were President and Sister Walker. Sister Walker is the daughter of our late Prophet Gordon B. Hinkley. They were hillarious, and very good speakers! If you have the opportunity to watch the BYU channel on sunday mornings, I would watch the BYU-Idaho devotionals. I don't know when there's will be shown, but it will be well worth watching, I promise. Well, I've written a whole lot! Things are pretty good, and I hope that all is well with you and your families! God Bless!

A quick update.

So, Its been a while since my last blog so I would love to fill you all in on the life of Lauren. Well, school has been going on for about 2 1/2 weeks, and its going great. I only have my two classes, but I really like them. Child development is fascinating, and of course Book of Mormon is great!

As you all know, the economy isn't doing so hot, so the job hunt is still in progress. I thought I had a job at the call center, but then they told me there was no work but to keep calling back in case some comes. So, I've been looking around for some more options. Hopefully I will find something right? On a better note, I started donating plasma! I can get up to $50 dollars a week so thats a plus. Its better than nothing though. Well, thats the financial news. haha

Next, is the roomies! I absolutely love them! Two of them I roomed with last semester, and one is new. Let me introduce you to them:

Janna Mills is from Orem, Utah. She is great! She is the cutest thing, and is always upbeat! She is going into nursing. Oh, and she is a clogger. Its soo cute!

Emily Howell is from Boise, Idaho. She is such a jokester! She is always positive! She is an English major, but she thinks that will change. She loves to read and run!

Megan Bradford is from Sacramento, California. She is the new roomie, and we love her. She is also a nursing major. She loves to take pictures! She is so fun!

We get along great! We take turns making meals for each other, and it works out so well! Lately we've been going to the cheap theatre, making snowmen, and having sleepovers that last all night.

Here we are! Thats me, Megan, Janna and Emily!

Here are some other pics of us lately!

We sure do have fun!
Anyways, what else? Since I have quite a lot of free time, I've been checking out a lot of books from the school library. All Jack Weyland books of course! They are great.

The weather hasn't been too brutal. It has snowed the last few days, but its managable. It must be better than Wisconsin though. No school because its to cold! Brr! I do miss it tho! Although, I do have tons of family in Idaho, and I have my Sammi right here in Rexburg! We've done alot of fun things in the last few days! We've watched way too many movies, walked all around rexburg, made some yummy food, and did I mention that we dyed my hair?! Yes, I have quite the dark hair now!

There it is! It will take a while to get used to, but I really like it! Alright friends, I am done with blog, and will do it again soon! Peace out!

Winter Semester.

Hello friends.

On January 7th a new semester started here at BYU-I. Technically, I shouldn't be at school at this time, but I am enrolled as an off-track student. My normal track is summer/fall, but after much thought and prayer, I decided to stay in the winter as well. Since I am off-track, I only have five credits. I have Child Development and The second part of Book of Mormon. They seem like they will be great!

Since I've been back, I have gotten quite a few things accomplished. I got a new bank account at Zion's Bank, straightened out scholarship information, got all moved in, and found a job at a call center. I know, not the most exciting thing in the world, but its a job right?

Anyways, what else to fill you in with? Christmas was great, and the whole family was together which was awesome! I had a blast with them and especially my niece and nephew! They are cuties! I had a great trip home to Wisconsin, and saw many old friends, and had a blast with my family. I already miss them dearly, but it is also good to be back in Idaho.

Here are some of my favorite Pics from Christmas!