Halloween Happenings

Last Saturday, my friend Adelynn and I ran the Haunted 5K in Orem. It was a super fun race and we had a great time making tutus and getting all dressed up for the race. 

Waiting for the race to start! 

Ballerinas! 

Then on Sunday, Kirsten invited some of our friends and me and Tyler over for dinner, which was lovely. 

Monday I went to a ward FHE where we decorated cookies and carved pumpkins. 

Tuesday I went to Institute. 

Wednesday Tyler and I went to Cornbelly's! It was so much fun! He'd never been before and we just had a blast. 

Thursday night was our first tournament game for frisbee!!! We played a great game but lost. It's single elimination but it's okay because we had an awesome season with an awesome team! 

Friday was Halloween! Allison, Tyler, and I went down to Grandma and Grandpa's. It was super fun and it was nice to have them meet Tyler. We had dinner and went trick-or-treating with the kids which was really fun. Afterwards Tyler and I went back home and watched a movie. 

Saturday I ran a race at BYU with some friends!

 That night Tyler and I made dinner then went to the dollar store and each picked out one thing to do with each other (we're trying not to spend a ton of money right now). Tyler bought a giant coloring book and I bought a jumbo game of checkers.

Today was church which was really good, then Tyler and I made dinner together!! 

xoxo,

Mallory

it's a new year!

Happy 2014! 

It is crazy how fast 2013 flew by. It was filled with so many good times and so many exciting changes. The year started out with a wonderful winter semester. Some highlights include awesome times with some of my best friends, such as winning the BYU Winter Olympics and going to the Festival of Colors. 

Netherlands! 

Spring term was a total blast! I was so blessed to room with some of the greatest girls I've ever met! It was amazing how we were all total strangers, but after 8 weeks grew to be some of the very best friends. I was also blessed to serve as Relief Society President. I grew to love each of the wonderful girls I was blessed to work with. What an honor it was and I learned so much from them all. I played on the best frisbee team and seriously enjoyed every moment of those 8 weeks! 

 Roommates!

The best day at the lake

Frisbee team!

Summer I took a much needed break from school and spent a few months at home. My family came and visited in Utah before we all flew home together. We did a lot of hiking while there too! We took an awesome family vacation to Boston and Maine. We saw a ton of historical sites and spent some time in Acadia National Park, as well as went to my mom's hometown. It was great! 

Fall semester brought even more good times and changes! I moved into a new apartment with some fabulous girls! We have had so much fun and it's been so great! I also started working at the BYU testing center which has been really good. Classes were great this semester as well. How lucky I am to have had such a great semester! I am very excited to see what new adventures 2014 will bring! 

Well here's a little recap of the last few weeks of the semester and the Holidays with my wonderful family! 

The weekend before finals, my parents flew out for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary surprise party. But, I did not know that they were coming out for the party, so they totally surprised me and my sister the night before the party! We had a lovely time spending some time with our family and honoring my grandparents! 

Me and my cute cousin!

Finals came and went, and even though it was kind of chaotic with my work schedule, I survived and flew home!

Katie and Scott came down on Christmas Eve and we got to celebrate Christmas all together! We had a great time. We went on some family runs and bike rides since the weather has been so beautiful! We also went to a Rockets game, spent some time with old friends, went to see Zoo Lights, did some shopping, and much more! 

Siblings picking me up at the airport! 

Excuse how awkward this picture is, but this is at the Toyota Center!

Zoo Lights

Good family friends! We've been friends with them since 2000! 

And we saw Frozen in 3D! Even though I've seen it 3 times... never gets old!

Well I head back to school in a few days, and I'm very excited for the new semester and new year! 

Hakuna matata,

Mallory

giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!! Well a day late, but better late than never. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year. It allows us to reflect upon the many blessings we've been given. It amazes me how much Heavenly Father blesses us. I have so many things to be grateful for.

I'm grateful first and foremost for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is the true gospel here on this earth. I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves each and everyone of us. He hears and answers our prayers. He speaks to Latter-Day prophets and we can be blessed as we heed those words. He has provided a way for us to return and live with Him. I'm grateful for my older brother, Savior, and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I am grateful for His example, for His atoning sacrifice that we may each be made clean and pure and fit for His kingdom. To learn more about my beliefs, check out the "What I Believe" tab on the right of this page.

I'm grateful for my family. I have the most amazing family. I'm grateful for my hard-working and loving dad who supports me in all I do. I'm grateful for my kind, compassionate, and talented mother who is always interested in my life and always knows what to say. I'm grateful for my older sister and her husband, who have been there for me since coming out to school and have been such great examples. I'm also grateful for my little niece who's coming in February!! :) I'm grateful for my little sister, who is so hardworking, smart, fun, strong, and kind. I'm grateful for my little cutie, my baby brother who is very talented, intelligent, and the funniest kid I know. I'm also grateful for my awesome extended family and their support.

I'm grateful for my many friends and all those who have touched my life. I'm grateful for all the roommates that I've had over the past year. I have been so fortunate to have each of them in my life. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be a student at BYU and to receive a quality education. I'm grateful for so many little things in this life as well, things like my cell phone, dangly earrings, sparkly eye shadow, ice cream, my keyboard, Netflix, and so much more. All these things, and so much more, are constant reminders of Heavenly Father's love for me.

 As for what's new with me... here's a quick update of what's been going on.

Classes have been relatively slow for the past few weeks but it's been a really nice break! Work has been busy--it's midterm time so lots of tests and lots of stressed students. But we always have a good time working.  October and November were full of some good times. We had a ward activity and went to Cornbelly's, which was super fun.

October ended with lots of Halloween happenings, including a dance, volunteering at a Halloween carnival, and some parties! 

Alice in Wonderland and Katniss

My awesome roommate Jenny worked as a publicist for Beyond 5 and asked us to help out at their concert. It was actually a lot of fun selling merchandise and meeting the boys and their great team. 

I've also been able to see Sarah a ton, which I am so grateful for.

BYU basketball game!

And of course, Thanksgiving has been wonderful. I'm at my grandparents house and we've been having a great time! My aunt, uncle, and cute little cousins all came down and we got to help decorate my grandparents' house for Christmas, have been playing lots of games, and had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner!

Cutie!

Good times with the cousins

Decorating for Christmas

Pretty mountains from my grandparents' house! 

Enjoy the holiday season! Hakuna matata,

Mallory

marching on

Hello hello! 

I figured I'd take some time to post an update! The past few weeks have been incredibly busy but also incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. I had lots of mid-terms, and let me tell you right now that going to the Testing Center to take a test is not nearly as fun as going to hand out tests. But regardless, I got through them and survived relatively unscathed. 

I went with some friends to True Blue Foam. We had a really good time, even though it was freezing cold. 

Before

and after! We are definitely loyal, strong, and TRUE blue! 

Then, that Friday I went to celebrate Julia's birthday with her and some friends. We went to dinner and then went to see the Saratov Approach. So I was a little nervous going to see it because I'm a baby and terrified of everything, but I was so glad I did get a chance to watch it. It was incredibly inspiring and truly made me reflect on the relationship I have with my Savior and Redeemer and my fellow men. It made me ponder whether or not I truly exhibit Christlike love to all those around me. It for sure gave me some insight. For more information about Mormon missionaries and my religious views, check out the "What I Believe" tab to the right. :) 

Julia's makeshift cake and candle!

Love her! 

The following Saturday my friend Casey and I ran a 5K! It was really hard, I'm not going to lie. But, we made it! It was actually a lot of fun. 

Then a week of madness passed with work and school. Last Friday night my roommates and I went out to see a movie and grabbed some dinner. We had delicious Thai food! 

Saturday morning I ran a 10K! It was surprisingly easy and I actually really enjoyed it. It was a really nice course, and despite the fact that it was freezing cold it was great! I actually ended up placing 2nd in my age division with a time of 56:51! For 6.2 miles, I will take it! Thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law, Katie and Scott, for taking me up to Highland and cheering me on! 

Before the race

After the race with Katie and Scott

With my medal! I was a little excited about it! 

Little spiritual plug for the week: 

I am amazed at the tender mercies that the Lord blesses with me with every day. Henry B. Eyring gave a wonderful talk in the October 2007 General Conference entitled "O Remember, Remember" (see the full version here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/o-remember-remember). One thing that really resonated with me was that he wrote in a journal nightly. He recalls: 

"Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened."

I decided to put that to the test. I have been recording in a little journal every evening how I have seen the Lord's hand in my life. I am absolutely amazed at the little things Heavenly Father blesses me with that comfort me, make me happy, or are true answers to my prayers. Though they are small and seemingly simple--a smile, a phone call to my family, running into an old friend, a letter-- they add up and show that Heavenly Father does care about me in my life and He is watching over me. He blesses me with the little things that honestly matter the most to me. I challenge you to try it out. Evaluate how the Lord blesses you. You will be amazed at how you see His hand and love in your life. We, like Nephi of old, can learn that the "tender mercies of the Lord" are evident because of our "faith" (see 1 Nephi 1:20). 

Really though, hakuna matata! 

Mallory

life in color

I cannot believe it is October! Seriously, that is just so insane.

Things are going so so well! My classes are tough but I just finished my first wave of midterms. Thankfully things will be far calmer for the remainder of this week. How lucky I am to be a part of the ComD program! I love it more than anything. Work at the Testing Center is so good! I am there so often, it is weird when I go there to take a test rather than work. However, I'd much rather give out tests than take tests of my own. 

Well a lot has happened in the past few weeks!

One of my old roommates, Hailey, opened her mission call. She is going to be serving in Copenhagen, Denmark! It was so fun to get back together with all our spring friends and celebrate this happy moment with Hailey!

Some of the girls of 2204 :)

Spring friends! 

Congrats Hailey! I am so proud of you and couldn't be happier for you!

Well this past week was one of my roommates, Erika's, birthday! What a wonderful day we had celebrating such a wonderful girl! We went out to dinner and got sushi! I will admit, it was my first time trying it and I was a little leery, but I actually really liked it! I was pleasantly surprised! I guess there's a first time for everything! Afterwards, we had a lovely little party for her at our apartment. 

Roomies! <3 

This past weekend was General Conference (for more information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, check out the "What I Believe" link to the right). It was an incredible weekend of inspiration and learning from our beloved modern-day prophet, Thomas S. Monson, as well as the apostles and general authorities. My lovely friend Kirsten was fortunate enough to get tickets to the Saturday afternoon session. We had a total blast up in Salt Lake. While the boys we went to Conference with were at the Priesthood session, Kirsten and I got to explore Temple Square and get in some much needed catch up! We went out to dinner afterwards. It was a great day with new and old friends.

Love her. 

Ran into Lindsey on Temple Square! Shout out to her for also receiving her mission call this past week. :)

Perfect day. 

How blessed I am! I attend an outstanding university, live in a wonderful ward with fantastic roommates, have some pretty incredible friends, and I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I cannot express my gratitude enough to my loving Heavenly Father. Remember that life is beautiful and you're never fully dressed without a smile! 

Hakuna matata,

Mallory