miss emma.

so sorry i am not the best blogger in the world, but i had quite a whirl-wind weekend.

on thursday morning, kelsy and i decided to drive to california.

so we packed a couple outfits and stopped at gurus for a quick lunch and then headed down the i-15.

we stopped an in-n-out and i devoured a double double like nobody's business.

i love that place and i felt at home already.

i didn't tell my family about my plans to come home for the weekend, and when i showed up they were quite confused.

ever since i moved to utah, i had been preparing my family for the day that i randomly drive home.

i don't think they were really took me seriously though, because when i actually did show up at 6 rue cezanne unannounced, they were baffled.

on friday morning, when i woke up in my own bed, i received an email via my blackberry saying "congratulations! you have been accepted to the winter 2010 london study abroad program!"

and i just was so excited i could've cried.

i really didn't think i was going to get in, because i've heard byu study abroad is super competitive, but i did get in.

i was accepted.

i wasn't entirely sure how my parents were going to react about me spending 4 months abroad and having to fork over a five digit number for this adventure, but when i brought it up at cinnamon productions on friday morning over eggs benedict and a blueberry muffin, they were nothing but excited and supportive.

oh happy day, i am moving to london!

let me just go off on a little tangent and tell you all how happy i am to have the Gospel in my life. good things happen when you do good things in your life. i am a testament of this, and if you don't believe me, try it for yourself. when your life is in order, things fall into place perfectly. miracles happen, good fortune exists, and blessings are too numerous to be counted.

anyway, after breakfast kels and i went to the beach and basked in the sunshine.

how lucky i am to be where i'm from.

i believe the ocean is therapeutic and the sunshine is essential for happiness.

we topped off the day with thai food and a movie and a solid good nights sleep.

there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, especially when it's been a while.

the next day we went shopping at the spectrum, sweated profusely at hunter's water polo game, and enjoyed pinkberry, my most favorite food on the planet.

that night, kels and i took these people to knotts scary farm.

i really do love these kids.

they are so good and so fun.

the last time i had been to knotts scary farm, was the fall of my senior year of high school.

on that night, i held hands for the first time with my exboyfriend of three years.

let me go on another tangent and express my gratitude for that boy. he has developed a wonderful relationship with my family over these past three years and has spent a lot of time with them. i am eternally grateful for his influence on my brother. for his sweet demeanor, his chivalry, the way he makes everything fun, how he watches out for everyone, and how he treated me with the upmost respect, even when i didn't deserve it. even though he may not have noticed, i am sure that he is one of the people my brother looks up to most, and i pray that hunter turns out to be the kind of man he is. he is genuinely the most Christlike individual i've ever known, and i am thankful for the impression he made in my life and the lives of the people i love.

lately i've been actively trying to look at the bright side of things. i'm trying to look at the bigger picture, to be able to understand why bad things happen, and how i can channel those bad things into good experiences. and it's been a huge blessing in my life.

a couple years ago i went to church with my grandpa and he bore his testimony about being thankful for the adversary. i couldn't really understand what me meant by it at that point in my life, but looking back at that now, i can perfectly relate to what he was saying.

i am too thankful for the adversary, because i am thankful for the opportunity i have to rise above it and defy it.

i am thankful for the adversary because through it, i know goodness and happiness.