I want to write...

It has been like 4 months since I have written on here at all. Here is what has been going on!

• This semester has been great, it has flown by so fast! It is finals week, I only have 2 tests left and I am out of here! My roommates are amazing and we will be all together again next semester. Oh and all A's this semester baby!!! (first time in my life!)
  
• We have had the BEST family home evening group this semester! I feel so close to the boys of Somerset 207, they are seriously the best. 2 are going on an adventure to China, 1 is going on a mission, 1 is going home to work, 1 is getting married, and we will still have one here with us! He is actually going to be my brother's new roommate!
  
• Christmas break I'm making my way back to Arkansas. To finally see my brother Cody, who got home from his mission in September. I am so excited! I am ready to relax some before having to come back to school for another crazy busy semester.
• Cody and I are driving back up to the Burg in January in our fancy new car, which is a stick shift that I do not know how to drive! I'm a little scared about that! I am so glad I am going to have my big brother here with me though, it's going to be such a blessing I know it!
  
• Next semester I am going to have 18 credits (7 classes! eeK!) and hopefully a job... I didn't get the one that I was supposed to hear back about today so I am on the hunt again. :/ Please someone in Rexburg Hire me!!!!
• One great thing about this semester flying by is that Joey, my missionary, boyfriend, and best friend only has a little more than 5 months left before he comes home! This is so completely unreal to me!!!! He has been gone for 565 days already! Ah I am so ready for him to be home! But he is where he needs to be and is doing such a good job, I am so proud of him!!!
  
• Also this semester I have become addicted to Pinterest! I love it so much. People have asked if I am getting married because of all the wedding ideas I have pinned lol. I'm not getting married yet, but girls gotta be ready ;) and it's probably going to be sooner than later!
  

I am so blessed, seriously! I have a great family, school, best friends, roommates, and a boy in England who thinks I'm pretty cute ;).

It's really been too long since I've posted.

3 days until summer is over.

I have had an AMAZING summer back at home!

Full of spending lots of time with my family

a vacation with my girlfriends

working as a good ole' carhop at Sonic

40 days closer to Christ challenge (more like 50 days)

lots of amazing letters from Joey

but it is time to go back to Rexburg now and i am so ready! I'm making the 1700 mile trip in 3 days with 2 other guys going back to BYU-I. I am going to miss Arkansas for real though, especially all of the trees! I am also going to miss my big brother coming home from his mission :( , he gets home from England a week after i leave! We are going to try to use our fancy phones and technology hook up skype to make it like i'm really there at the airport! I'll see ya at Christmas Cody!

2 days!

without cheating!! woo!

Whatever, I'm eating cheesefries.

I've been going crazy on this stupid diet and like Regina George, I really wanna loose 3 pounds. After 2 1/2 weeks of eating special K for breakfast, skim milk, meal replacement bars for lunch, a reasonably healthy dinner, and then 8pm happens.. I am HUNGRY! and this nasty little hungry monster keeps yelling at me to go into the fridge, get that spinach dip and the corn chips. Now the 4 miles i ran/walked mean nothing.

Tomorrow I am more then determined to not cheat at all! I will not have anything dripping with sweet goodness and nothing crispy or deep fried. I will have a salad. bleh.

Dieting is so lame, but my modest butt will look good on the beach next week!

Finding the Joy in the Journey

This semester is almost over, only a week and a half left then I go back home to Arkansas for the summer and possibly finish school their instead of coming back. BYU- Idaho is such an amazing school, I really feel like I have grown so much and my testimony of Christ is much stronger after these 8 months of living in Idaho in the little Mormon "bubble" that it is. This year I took New Testament as my religion class and we are supposed to keep a journal to go along with our studies of Christ's life. Well I didn't get around to writing in my journal every day and with it due tomorrow the last couple hours I have been making up pages. I came across this talk by President Thomas S. Monson called "Finding Joy in the Journey" http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng from the 2008 General Conference while trying to find topics to write about in the journal. This talk is amazing and really stood out to me especially about the last 4 minutes. I want to share it with yall.

"I pray that all of us will reflect gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die? He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. The time came when He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Earlier, perhaps perceiving the culmination of His earthly mission, He spoke the lament, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” “No room in the inn” was not a singular expression of rejection—just the first. Yet He invites you and me to receive Him. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Who was this Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief? Who is the King of glory, this Lord of hosts? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.” He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.” He pleads, “Keep my commandments.” Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His word. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude. Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I swear that is one of the best talks I've ever read! The atonement of Christ is amazing. He Suffered so much for me, because he loves me! He is there standing at my door just waiting for me to open it and let him into my life. Your house may be filled with filth and clutter, but that is ok! I know it will take so much courage and faith just to open up the door. But it is important that we do let Christ in becuase all He wants to do is help us clean up the mess that we have made. Once we let Christ into our lives and into our hearts I know that we will be filled with peace and that weight that we walk around with on our shoulders will be lifted, gone. That is an amazing feeling to know that and I feel so lucky to know of Christ and that I decided to let him in.

I am a child of God and my worth is great! All that Heavenly Father and Christ wants us to do in this life is to endure to the end doing everything that we can to stay righteous enough so that we can return to live with them again. In the Garden of Gethsemane Christ suffered for all of our sins, bad choices, mistakes, and pains... but he also felt our joys and happiness, he knows the good times along with the bad. He knows everything about us and knows us by name!

I am so greatful that I know the answers to "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" I am a daughter of Heavenly parents and they love me.

DOUBLE DIGITS BABY!

oh ya it's been 10 months since Joey left, 42% done, only 60 weeks left to go lol!!!! Here's a little somethin' somethin' from his letter "Yes I've eaten fish and chips silly lol. It's really good but enough calories to last a week." I'm so proud of my British boy I can't believe that it's almost been a year, time goes by so fast and I love it!

Prized Posession, Artist, and Human

Day 12: A picture of your most prized posession.

Right now it's Joey's letters and the tape he sent me. Seriously looking in the mailbox and seeing one of those purple stamps with Queen Elizabeth on it is the BEST feeling ever.

With every word I read in his letters I feel a tiny bit closer to him and feels amazing.

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist

I love all kinds of music, but Michael Jackson is the one that will never get old.

Day 14: A picture of someone you couldn't imagine your life without.

Ya Joey wins this one. He has been such a huge part of my life these last 4 ish years, he is a great missionary now and completely, 100% worth the wait!

10 & 11

Ok i'm combining these cuz i'm behind.


Day 10: a picture of who you do the most messed up things with.




That's right, this is innocent little Morgan and Kaylee sneaking out in the middle of the night! Haha actually we would be too scared to do anything like that, we just like to make people think we're cool by taking pictures.

Day 11: A picture of something you hate

i HATE TALK RADIO!!!! you can always hear there their spit smacking while they're talking and it's never about anything i care about.... uhhhh it just makes me cringe thinking about it, and throwup a little.

Always been there!

Day 9: A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

ok so i have 4 people who have gotten me through the most. They are my best friends! We've always been there for each other through all of it since we were little. Bringing emergency icecream over to heal a broken heart, staying up all night talking, and just being able to make eachother laugh.

I love you girls sooo much I don't' know what I would do without yall!

LOL

Day 8: A picture that makes you laugh.

haha i love this picture! Morgan and I are crazy and when we get together we are even more crazy! So many sleepovers with "crazy makeup," and we will never get to old for it, well maybe but not quite yet. :)

seven seven seven!

day 7: a picture of my most prized possession

My Family

This picture is in Florida last summer with everybody minus Cody who was(is) in England. I love my family I wouldn't want to live a day without them.

Seis!

Day 6: A picture of the person you would love to trade places with for a day.

Haley James Scott

Ok so this may be just because I am currently watching multiple One Tree Hill episodes at the moment. But I think Hayley is amazing, beautiful, talented, and has the perfect little family :) Yes I know she is make-believe, don't judge me..

Day 5

Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory

I have A LOT of favorite memories, but this is defiantly one of them! The summer before Cody left on his mission my family and I went to Utah, Vegas, and we got to visit the Grand Canyon! It was beautiful!

This is obviously a picture of Dallin, Cody, and I falling off the edge into the Grand Canyon.

My Favorite Night

Day 4: A picture(s) of my favorite night

Senior Prom!

My girls! I don't know where I would be without them.

Joey! Of course it was a great night because he was there :)

Haha he's a goofball

And I love him!

So many memories!

Day 3. This one's easy!

Day 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

One Tree Hill

My sweet friend Autumn and fellow clarinet player, every day in band, all through high school, would tell me about what was going on in One Tree Hill and that i looked like Hailey. Even though I never had watched it i knew exactly what was going on in the very dramatized plot. Finally the summer of 2009 my friends got me to start watching it. I had a lot of catching up to do so that summer i watched seasons 1-6 all on my laptop with borrowed DVD's. Thanks to Autumn i am now hooked and get my roommates hooked on this amazing show!

Day 2

Day 2: A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest

My amazing brother Cody Biff Duke! This picture is from his farewell party almost 18 months ago. We are so close and he is such a great missionary. He actually just sent a letter to my roommate that said "How is Kaylee doing? We go way back, all of her life actually." haha he's a goof and I love him!

I remember always staying in his room for christmas eve and easter eve.

I remember driving to siminary together, listening to classic rock, getting a flat tire, and walking home.

I remember getting in a car wreck on the way to school.

I remember sitting on his bed singing hymn's together till late at night.

I remember the night before he left for England we ran to walmart for ducktape and plugin adaptors and goofing around till mom had to call for us to come home so she could spend time with him his last night here.

I remember going to prom together with our dates.

I remember when he helped me do 100 pushups and i didn't think i could do it but he pushed me.

I couldn't have asked for a better big brother or best friend :)

Photo Challenge

Ok so i'm going to take a 30 day "photo challenge!" i know yall are excited lol





Day 1: A picture of yourself with 10 facts

1. I like to take crazy pictures like this.
2. I go to BYU-Idaho and i love it!
3. My occupation right now is at the Plasma Center. That's right i'm selling my body for $50 a week lol
4. There's this boy in England who i think is pretty cute :)
5. I have 4 of the best friends a girl could ask for
6. I'm learning to play the guitar!
7. Anatomy and Philology 2 is kicking my butt, hard core
8. I'm kindof obsessive with countdowns. 35 days till i leave Rexburg for home. 36 days till Joey's birthday. 80 days till my birthday. 84 days till Joey's one year. 101 days till Florida. 204 days till Cody gets home. 450 days till Joey comes home.
9. One Tree Hill might possibly be the best show on the planet.
10. I love avoiding studying by blogging instead :)
    

9 months

He's the one in the middle with the gray hoodie :) They went ice skating for a pday.

SO Surreal.

And that's all i got to say about that.

37% done

"Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will."-Peyton Sawyer. OTH.

"Another Great Day at BYU-Idaho"...

President Clark always says this at the beginning of devotional every tuesday and these past 2 days that has actually been a true statement! It's been in the mid 30's, no snow, and the sun is just a shining!

Yesterday was Valentine's and we woke up to this

Someone "heartattacked" us aww how sweet. Oh look it's from sweet ol apartment 106, the lovely girls right undernieth us that we've never met before. Lets look a little closer shall we?

We wanted to bring them cookies or something for being SO sweet!

But this was the real reason for the construction paper hearts. "Roses are red, Violets are blue remember to be quiet but we still love you" No cookies for them and we are gonna have a wild dance party located directly above apartment 206 very soon! haha

We thought about repling by writing them a little note saying:

"Roses are red, violets are blue we'll jump even louder just to annoy you"

Then my mom suggested this one:
"Roses are red, camels are tan we will try the best we can"

The rest of my Valentine's was so good! Seriously I didn't expect to get anything but I got so many sweets!

I was surprised by my friend Enoisa who sent me a big cookie and chocolate covered pretzels.

My visiting teachers brought me a Card and little debbie snacks.

and my AMAZING Daddy sent me roses and a gift card for the grocery store out here!

and then of course for FHE we decorated sugar cookies to give away to people for the holiday and I may or may not have eaten every other cookie I decorated.... lol

Starting today (after I finish my last Valentine sweet haha) I'm going on a sugar strike!

Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Today was a really blah, lazy, i need to go workout, i'm way behind in studying, but i don't care, down day but then i checked the mail....

... and got this amazing Valentine from this kid in England ;) It's gonna be a great night! Oh and i have no idea what he's doing in either picture because of course he didn't give any explanation haha.

What did you get from your Valentine?

Savannah got this email and sent it to me. I had to share.

The Man Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Finally , the guys' side of the story. ( I must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear " the rules" From the female side....
Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers. (FIRST & FOREMOST RULE)
1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports, It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1.. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem ONLY if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it , just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no IDEA WHAT MAUVE IS.

1. IF IT ITCHES, IT will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle..

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football or Hockey.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

8 months!

BAM!

8 months down. 16 to go. the time just flew by! amazing.

I just got a tape in the mail from Elder Brown, an hour and a half of him telling me about his awesome missionary adventures. lol

Oh and on the tape he said "rubbish!" So funny, my little British boy :)

Let me tell you about this girl!

Finally introducing to the bloggin world Hailey!

Full name: Hailey Suzanne Warwood
From: Battle Mountain, Nevada

This is her second semester here and the second being my roommate and she doesn't know what she wants to major in yet.

Here are some of her favorites:

Color: blue
Food: anything homemade (nothing with cheese ;) hehe)
Movie: Yes man
Music: all of my music lol
Feature: Eyes
Type of cereal: captain crunch
Talents: playing the piano, dancing, getting awesome grades

Lets get a little deeper now…

What makes her happy: Dancing and good company, fun things, outside, Kaylee
Why did you come to BYUi: “nowhere else seemed right”
What scares you?: “failure, insects close to my face, being strangled”
What has been on your mind lately?: “choosing a major, and having to write this stupid synthesis”
Beauty product you can’t live without: eyeliner, mascara, and coverup
Hardest choice you’ve had to make: “to brush off people who were rude to me in high school and not dwell on it”
Greatest accomplishment: “being my high school valedictorian, my art rewards, and surviving my first semester of college”

If I could describe her in a few words it would be that she is a girl who makes me laugh, doesn’t like to push her drawers in ;), a dancin’ fool, and I’m so glad we got stuck together!

Let me tell you about this girl!

Let me tell you about my roommate Savannah!

Full name: Savannah Kelley Thorpe
She is from: Madison, Mississippi
1 semester down off track now working at the plasma center pricking fingers!

Here's some of her favorites!

Color: hot pink, anything bright
Food: dip-n-dots
Movie: Grease
Music: country and hip-hop
Feature: “I like my teeth, I’m pretty happy with them… I had braces twice that’s why I’m happy with them”
Type of cereal: "Coco puffs, seriously I could eat those everyday”
Talents: “Gymnastics and telling jokes” haha

Future kid names?: Hazel, Piper, Sadie, Stella, and Georgia

Me: do you have any boy names?

Sav: no, i'm only having girls. haha

Lets get a little deeper now…
What makes her happy: “Clothes, anything pink, my family, and making other people laugh”
Why did you come to BYUi: “Well I lived in Preston, ID when I was younger, I wanted to go to a church school, and one that wasn’t too big.”
What scares you?: “Being 40 and not married, scary movies, and being on an elevator.”
What has been on your mind lately?: “What I’m going to do with my life whether I’m going to go to hair school or something here”
Beauty product you can’t live without: Foundation
Hardest choice you’ve had to make: “Have I ever had to make hard choices?” lol
Greatest accomplishment: “Doing JR Miss and being able to drive a stick shift.”

If I could describe her in a few words it would be that she is hilarious and so fun to be with!

“Well my finger thinks you’re awkward!”

Let me tell you about this girl!

Let me introduce you to my roommate Joanie!

Full Name: Joan Marie Panganiban
She is From: Redding, California and St. George, Utah
This is her second semester here at BYU-I
Major: Exercise Physiology

Here is some of her favorites!

Color: Yellow
Food: “whatever I’m in the mood for"
Type of Music: country
Movie: Pride and Prejudice
Feature about herself: “my eyes and smile”
Cereal: frosted shredded wheat
Talents: singing, playing the piano

Lets get a little deeper now…

What makes her happy: The sun, flowers, smiles, exercise, food, and singing
Why did you come to BYUi: “I’ve always wanted to come here, I love the spirit here.”
What scares you?: Heights, puke, change, contention, losing people
What has been on your mind lately?: “my career choice, and my brother coming home from his mission. I finally get my brother back!”
Beauty product you can’t live without: Mouse, Gel, and Hairspray
Hardest choice you’ve had to make: “Finally ending it with McKay, giving him up.”
Greatest accomplishment: “Running a half marathon and competing in the Ivins City Princess Pageant”

If I could describe her in a few words it would be that she is such a sweetheart who cares genuinely about everybody around her

Let me tell you about this girl!

So my Mom was asking me about my new roommates so I decided I would have a little interview with each of them and make them a spot-light on my blog the next couple days! First I'm gonna introduce you to my roommate Karen!

Full Name: Karen John Nasso Yarinakis
She is From: Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania Africa
Languages she knows: Swahili, English, French

She’s been here at BYU- Idaho for 2 semesters and is off track working now she works for the library and is an early morning custodian on campus.

Major: International Studies, minor in French

Here is some of her favorites!
Color: “I love purple, black, gray, blue, and white”
Food: “Uh-uhh I can’t choose, as long as its edible”
Type of Music: R &B, Hip-hop, and some Country
Feature about herself: Everything!
Cereal: Honey bunches of oats
Talents: “Sleeping, and that is it.”

Lets get a little deeper now…
What makes you happy? “As long as everyone around me is happy, I’m happy.”
Why did you come to BYU-I? “I wanted to go to a church school, BYU provo was my first choice but I ended up coming up here. My sister graduated here and I want to follow her legacy”
What scares you? Snakes, spiders, and death
What has been on your mind lately? My family back home
Beauty product you can’t live without: deodorant
Hardest choice you’ve had to make: “It was either to leave home and come to school here or stay home and take a long time to graduate there.”
Greatest accomplishment: “There’s so many I could fill up a hundred pages.” haha

If I could describe Karen in one word it would be Happy 24/7

hEARt BreaK iCe CreaM

This people, is my best friend! my bestie, my bility, my shmorgan, my favorite!

She's been having a real hard week so i am dedicating this blog to her!

So there is this boy (and it may or may not be all because of me that they met in 2008 ;))

and he is her best friend!

Well he's going on his mission to ALBANIA on the 19th!

I know it's gonna be so hard Morgan (believe me i know) but everything will be alright and the time will fly by i swear! I love you and I know he does too!

But for now feel free to stuff your face with all the icecream that you want and I will be happy to stuff my face with you even all the way in Idaho if you need me to ;) lol

John 16:33

"I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have over come the world!"

You know you're not in the South anymore when...

... when you see the Prophet on Walmart's shelves.

It's gonna take a while to get used seeing this kindof thing.

and it's normal.

But the Prophet should be in Walmart!