Europe Sendoff Concert!

Europe is now just around the corner!!!! We leave on Wednesday and I am just SOOO excited. Sunday afternoon we had our Europe sendoff concert in a a local church. The chapel was packed, and the crowd loved us. The concert went really well, and it really made me feel ready for our tour. I truly think that we are going to do so well and I think the audiences will love us over there:). I have loved Harpfusion so much! We are all so close in the group, so performing and practicing is more like playing or hanging out. We are always laughing and having a good time. I feel so lucky to be in this program, and I think that Europe will be a blast. I simply adore all these girls. A sad thing that happened at this concert though was that three girls got their purses stolen and lost everything from wallets, phones, credit cards to cameras and keys. It was so devestating and after having such a fun afternoon, it was hard to see these girls burst into tears. I felt so bad. With keys stolen, we were down three cars for moving harps....it was time to get creative. As you can see Ruthie and I won the prize for most impressive load....FOUR FULL SIZE HARPS IN ONE SMALL MINI VAN!!!!! Seriously I was shocked it worked. I don't know how good it was on the harps....but they got back to the school fine and that is all that mattered:) haha. It was a great day. Europe!....Here we come!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween!! It is not as good in ninety degree weather...but I still love it. Even though it is hot here, I still day dream about Hallowen time in Utah. The leaves have changed color, and when you walk down the sidewalk you crunch through the ones that have already fallen. The air is chilly and the smell of pumpkins is in the air when people light them up on their doorsteps. I love this holiday. For family home evening last week, the activity was carving pumpkins. Of course I was all over that one. My friends and I all went together, and I carved me the classic Jack-o-latern. Happy Halloween everyone!

CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!!:)

Conference weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. As a kid I liked it cause it meant I got to stay home and watch t.v. instead of go to church, but as I have gotten older I love it for very different reasons:). I woke up this morning knowing it was a special day...but besides that something was different. Very different. I was cold? I was COLD!!!! It was hard to get myself to get out of bed, it was so cold. Not ONCE in the time that I have lived here have I experienced that feeling. It was amazing! The weather in Tucson was absolutely beautiful today. The sun was shining, but there was a cool breeze and I actually got chilly throughout the day. Conference has always meant fall time or spring time to me in utah. I loved October conference cause it was autumn time in Utah. I was kind of sad this last week cause I was not going to be in Utah for conference, but it turned out to be a great first couple sessions, and the cool weather made it feel more like Fall time for me and I loved that. I went to Abby Webb's (harpfusion girl) house today for Saturday conference with Kenzie. Leann and Caroline, also two harpfusion girls, were there along with Tyler, an incredible cook that made us a big breakfast, and Carlin, a friend from my ward. It was a fun gathering and a nice setting to watch conference in. Abby's cute little house was quiet as conference went along and all seven of us were all taking notes and concentrating very hard on every talk. It was a good experience for me to be among such valiant members and getting so excited to hear the brethern speak. I love all of them, and thank Heavenly father daily for such great friends. Between conference sessions we all went to a nearby park and played around. It really was such a fun day. Conference was amazing, and many questions I have asked heavenly father about in prayer were answered today through his apostles. The spirit was so strong, and more than once every person in the room had tears in their eyes. The time went by too fast, and I was so sad when the two sessions were over. I can not wait for tomorrow. I am so greatful to be a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ. This gospel, this good news, is what brings me happiness. I know that the men that spoke to us today and the men that will speak to us tomorrow are men of God and the words they speak to us are inspired. I have a testimony of this gospel, and I love this church with all my heart. I love my savior and I love my heavenly father. I hope to have a "broken heart", and to live life by the Lords will and not my own. I only hope that I can be an example of righteousness to those around me, and I hope to have opportunities to share the "good news" with someone who is searching for the truth:) I love Conference weekend and I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am. I miss you all so much and cant wait to see you in three weeks. I love you all. I am so greatful that we all get to be together for eternity:) That is what I call happiness:)

My AMAZING weekend:)

I wonder if it will ever get easier to say goodbye after a visit. It was hard after Labor day and it was hard this time, but the sadness of having to live through another seperation is worth it when you have so many new amazing memories that have just been made. This weekend was so amazing and I so wish I could live it over and over again. Mommy and daddy drove Kanga down to Tucson to see me this weekend. They got in on Thursday evening just before my concert. It was really exciting for me to have them here during a harp fusion concert. I am glad I got to introduce them to all the girls that I love so much, and was glad they got to watch Dr. Mclaughlin in her teaching element. Dad even helped us move the harps to the concert, which can be quite an ordeal:). My first Harp fusion concert went well:), and my new teal dress is very pretty I think. It is really fun to perform with this group, and I hope you all look at the schedule on this page and see if you can make any of the concerts cause they are amazing! Dr. Mclaughlin does an incredible job. After the concert I took mom and dad to my favorite dessert place for some shakes:). It felt so perfect and familiar to me to be performing on a stage and getting ice cream after. It is like what I grew up doing:). Friday was really great for me cause mom and dad got to go to school with me:). We went to the farmers market on campus, went to three museums on campus and one off, and met Nickie for lunch!!! It was such a blast to all be together talking, laughing, and catching up. There is a part of me that struggles being around Nick because of painful memories and so many perfect childhood memories and reminders of how much life has changed. But it also feels so good to be around him again. So great to fill in that void that has been there for so long. Nickie is hilarious....always has been a comedian:) and he is fun to be around. He is doing well, and he and I stay in close contact during the week. But I am glad mom and dad got to talk with him. It was a great lunch. The three of us ended the school day by going to my pedagogy class, which is a harpfusion class that teaches us how to teach the harp. I loved having my parents sitting by me in class:) I loved it. After school dad took mom and I to all the shopping centers in Tucson. I have been to some malls, but there is a way up scale, fancy shopping center we walked around, and a big outlet mall here too. It was fun to go places I had never been before. I spent the night in Kanga Friday night:) I love that RV. LOVE IT. Saturday was so perfect and so fun. We went hiking up in Mt. Lemmon which is like 7000 feet above Tucson. One minute we were driving through cactus and the next we were in a forest of pine trees. It was beautiful up there, and like twenty degrees cooler!:) Oh man it felt amazing. On the way back we stopped by an old western town for lunch. We did not stay for any of the shows there, but the area was really cute and the stores fun. We also went to a family fun center, which has everything Boondocks has in Utah. We only did the mini golf course there, but it was a blast. Mom and dad tied, and I was like two strokes behind them. It was a fun little course. The last night of my perfect weekend was spent at the RV park. Mom and I swam and dad supervised and took pictures. We had a little party in Kanga too:) We got some nachos together, sandwhiches, soup, and ice cream and watched a movie. I was in perfect happiness. I hated when dad walked up to the tv, turned it off, and said it was time for bed. Call me a baby, but I did cry. But only a little bit! he he. I am so grateful for such amazing parents. They do so much for me, and the words "thank you" will never be able to express my deep gratitude. It was a perfect weekend, and I can not wait for another one like it. I love you mom and dad. Thank you for taking the long drive down here to play with me. It was a blast. I love you.

Sick and tired...literally

So this weekend I am really sick. I hate being sick. You have the snot...the gross feeling...the headache..the eyes that are droopy and the pale skin that makes people look at you funny. Yeah. That is me this weekend. So I am here on my blog...trying to figure things out. Exploring and such. I hope yall will check it frequently. I will add more and more pictures every week. I love you all.

Here I am!

I have finally arrived to the world of blogging. Sorry it took me so long! Life in Arizona is ridiculously busy, and I am trying to handle a lot of things at once. It is hard when you feel like you never have a free minute to yourself. So you should all feel very honored that I am here tonight because this is cutting into homework time:). You are worth it. So, I am back in the groove down here. It is hot, I sweat a lot, and I am stressed. That is pretty much how things go down here. Last weekend was so amazing you guys! It felt so nice to be home, and it was hard to leave. Thank you all for the fun and memories:). I already miss you guys. Arizona could be filled with all the coolest most fun college kids in the world, and it would still feel empty and lonely to me because none of you are here. But I am okay. I am already counting down the days to my next visit:) I get to start performing soon too, so life should get more exciting. Anywho, here I am! I will post info on my upcoming concerts, and other activities I am involved in as soon as possible. So check my blog:) I love you all so much. You are in my thoughts constantly.:) This is sweaty Arizona girl signing off.