Start of something new

I know it seems like I've dropped off the face of the planet. But, I am in fact alive and doing well. 

This is gonna be a pretty big post. So, brace yourself. 

So after all my finals, I spent the weekend before the Spring term with my aunt and her family. We went to Moab and visited Arches National Park. I seriously have the best family in the world and I loved spending time with my adorable little cousins. 

Calvin, me, Peyton, and Kessie at Dead Horse Point

We all made it to Delicate Arch! 

My cute hiking buddies :) 

Landscape Arch

Then, I moved into my new apartment that weekend! The transition was quick and super crazy, but it worked out. 

 New bedroom! 

Our lovely living room

Yes, we do have a piano. Yes, it is the best thing ever. 

Our kitchen

On Sunday we all went to church. I actually got roped into teaching Sunday School the first week, but it was actually a lot of fun and a super good experience. Then we came home and ate our first roommate dinner. :) 

Chicken Alfredo! 

We spent the rest of the evening playing games and getting to know friends from our ward. 

The following Tuesday, I received a message from the Ward Executive Secretary--I was to meet with the Bishop that evening. I had a hunch of what that meant. Lo and behold, I was called that evening to serve as the Relief Society President of my ward. For those of you unfamiliar with this, the Relief Society is the women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that cares for the physical and spiritual needs of each of its members (check out the "What I Believe" tab above) and I was called to be the president of this group of ladies from my Bishop, who was inspired of the Lord to put me in this role. How inadequate I felt! I went upstairs and cried. I prayed that night and cried more. In fact, I cried more that week than I had in a long time. I knew this was a big responsibility that the Lord was trusting me to fulfill. I, however, accepted the call and dedicated my time to this calling. It has been a wonderful experience already. I've never been so close to the Lord. He is watching over me to ensure the necessary work for the sisters is being accomplished. He has blessed me in my time to accomplish not only all the things associated with the call, but also to do well on my school work and find sufficient time to study. I bear testimony to you that this organization is a divine one and the Lord blesses and watches over each of His beloved daughters, as well as sons. 

I can't hit on everything that happened in the past few weeks, but here is a snapshot: 

One of my very best friends entered the MTC on Wednesday, May 8 to serve as a missionary in Romania and Moldova. I was so blessed to see him and meet his family before he left. He is going to be such a wonderful missionary! 

I have had some of the best times with my roommates. I've known them like 3 weeks and I feel like its been years. I adore them all and am so so SO blessed to have them in my life! <3 

We be cute. 

Roommates who share milk together stay together! <3 

I also got to go to a bonfire with some of the kids from my ward: 

annnnnnd we did an Iron Chef competition. 

Aprons! :) 

love love LOVE her! 

Finished product!! Don't be fooled, it turned out to be GROSS. 

Well this week has been pretty boring. I had two midterms so I did a lot of studying. I'm also playing on an ultimate frisbee intramural team, so that's been a nice break from school and church stuff. 

I just can't even begin to express my gratitude for my Heavenly Father and all He has blessed me with. I seriously LOVE BYU with my whole heart. It is the best place. In the world. Better than Disney World (although, I wouldn't mind a break from school to go to Disney World...haha). I love it here. I love the campus, the teachers, the people, my program--everything is wonderful. Life is so beautiful. God is gracious and so good. 

Hakuna matata,

Mal

Good times and good byes

I know it has been like one million years since I've posted. But things have gotten so crazy recently. 

Monday marked the end of my freshman (and I guess kind of sophomore too) year. After a stressful and crazy weekend full of studying and finals, I have finished the winter semester!! It's a really good feeling. 

So I have a ton of pictures to post, so bear with me. 

The last weekend of March, I ran a 5k with my friend Chris. I actually ended up placing second for girls, so that was kind of awesome. 

 

Later that day, Sarah and I went to the Festival of Colors with our friends Ben and Koltin. It was WAY fun!

Before... 

Sarah and I also hiked the Y with some of the coolest kids we know. Sarah had never been before so it was way fun! 

 Cole, me, Sarah, Jacob, and Zak

 <3 

At the top!! 

This past finals week we also took some time to spend our last few days with some of our fabulous friends. 

 Celebratory dinner with Sarah, Jacob, and Cole 

HANG TIME. ONLY THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH (besides, you know, Disney World...)

Fabulous 3200 Stover Hall Sisters. Bros. Whatever. 

I just adore them. 

This past year has been incredible. I have learned so much about myself and my life and met so many wonderful people. I am so blessed to have made such amazing friends and had so many good times. God truly knew what I needed this year. 

I'm excited to start again for the spring term to see what God has in store! :) 

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." --Dr. Suess

Hakuna matata, 

Mallory 

Catch up!

Dear heavens! It has been too long and I'm not even sure where to begin! 

Can I just start by saying how much I love the weather right now? It is finally beginning to warm up and the snow is finally GONE. All I want to do is be outside. I (attempt) do my homework outside, eat my lunch outside, and play frisbee and run all the time in the gorgeous weather. In fact, last week I got to visit my aunt and played with my adorable cousins outside the whole evening. 

They are the cutest! 

Okay let me share some of the highlights of the past few weeks. 

So my friends and I celebrated National Pi Day (3/14) in the best way--we got Sammy's Pie Shakes. Can you say divine? It was such a fun night!! 

These kids. 

It was one of my wonderful, beautiful, and very best friend's birthday two weeks ago. We had a fabulous birthday dinner for her and then went back to her apartment for a little party! It was so fun! 

Happy Birthday Angie! <3 

Sarah and I participated in the Run for Your Life challenge here on campus. From the second week of January to last week we had to run a total of 150 miles. It was killer. I ran anywhere from 3-5 miles a day. But, we finished! And...

WE GOT FREE INTRAMURAL CHAMPION SHIRTS.

Try not to be too jealous. These are just the most coveted shirts on campus. It's fine. 

I have had about a million and one tests to take, papers to write, and things to do. But I am still alive and doing well. I'm still working to get my life in order for next year--signing up for classes, applying for jobs and housing, all that good stuff. But it's coming together and I can honestly say I am so stoked for a new year. :)  

Hakuna matata! 

Mallory 

PS: Please, enjoy these terrifying pictures of me and Sarah.

Sleep is overrated anyway...

I had really good intentions to get to bed early tonight. But those intentions didn't exactly manifest themselves as actions, hence this blog post.

I know it's been a while. So where to begin? 

How about with a trip to ihop for free pancakes on National Pancake Day with Angie and Paige? Yeah, that seems like a good place to start. It was super fun having the much-needed catch up time, and hello, FREE PANCAKES. Can't go wrong. Win-win situation. 

On Valentine's Day, I went out with Cole and some of his friends. We went out to dinner and went salsa dancing, followed by some adventures on the streets of Provo. It was such a party! 

Salsa Chocolate anyone? :) 

Since Monday was a holiday, I gladly welcomed the three day weekend. I got to go running with Chris and watch him open his mission call,

(Haha this picture cracks me up.)

went to Trafalga with Justin,

(such a fun night!) 

and PARTYED AND DOMINATED AT THE BYU WINTER OLYMPICS!!!! 

Allow me to explain. Some guys organized a real live Winter Olympics and it was awesome! We divided into 8 teams of 8 and each represented a country. We were team Netherlands (props to me and Cole for making those super sweet bandanas). We competed in sledding relays down snow-covered hills, "dog sledding", human curling (which was brilliant), a running race in the snow, a snowball fight, a biathlon (shooting nerf guns and running), and soccer. We actually tied for first with the Soviet Union, but it was still epic. 

GOLD MEDALISTS! 

 Dog sledding! (Yes, I'm on the sled...)

DOG SLEDDING CHAMPS! 

All the teams 

First place at human curling? What?! 

Biathlon buddies! (It was way harder than it sounds).

The champs! Soviets and Netherlands

Well I have a feeling that 7 AM is going to come much faster than I'd like. So that's about it from here. But remember that life is beautiful, God is so good, and hakuna matata! 

Mallory

Facial disgracial

Hello from freezing cold, snowy Utah!
It's hard to believe it's already February. I guess time flies when you're having fun (and studying too...don't worry y'all.)

So 2 weeks ago on Friday night, Sarah and some of our friends went to a nerd dance. Yes, we acted as awkward as we possibly could. And yes, it was the best thing ever.

Some of the best looking nerds in Provo :) 

Love her! <3 

The following Monday, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the beautiful Provo temple. What a fantastic experience it was! I know that it is the house of the Lord and felt His presence there. 

Then last Friday night, I got to go with some friends to the Kid History Episode 10 premiere. It was hysterical and I am pretty much obsessed with them. It's fine though. 

WHAT THE HECK WHY DO I LOVE THEM SO MUCH? 

This week, honestly, sucked. There is no way to put it lightly. It was stressful and required me to make some pretty big decisions for the future. On top of that, I had several tests, and I was so fortunate as to get terribly sick. There were times I fell to my knees and prayed that Heavenly Father would give me the strength to go on. I had done all that I could and was down and defeated. However, I survived the week, and really had a productive and successful time with all my tasks. I know that my ability and strength to endure was through the grace, mercy, and love of my Heavenly Father. Without Him, I would have had a really rough time. I know He lives and loves us. Okay, sorry for the sob story. I'm done. Promise. 

I spent this evening bedridden; I decided to make the most of my illness and catch up on my favorite show of all time--Once Upon a Time (if you haven't watched it...shame on you. Season 1 is on Netflix. Check it out).  I am looking forward to a relaxing and rest-filled weekend. 

God is so good! Keep that in mind. 

Hakuna matata, 

Mallory