GABBY

college dorm (ahhh its just coming too fast!)

here are some of the fun purchases i got for my dorm

all are from either kohl's or tj max (my two fav. stores!)

wall calendar

mattress topper! BEST THING EVER 4-inches of heaven

laundry bag, make-up bag, bin, and motivational desk quote

desk

fun diego (san diego)

our annual girls trip this year was to the famous San Diego, California! In my book it is a MUST to visit cali at least once during the summer! Last year our trip was to Austin, Texas. They both have been two of my favorite trips ive ever taken.

we were missing a couple of our favorites (katie and tina-bean) Katie is on the U of U soccer team and she had a soccer camp she couldn't miss and Sister Tina Taylor is serving a Lds mission! (ps she is the cutest sister missionary ever) love her.

My favorite part of the entire trip was being able to go to the San Diego Temple with my mom and sister. It is such a sight and the spirit there is absolutely amazing.

our trip consisted of: staying at a way cool apartment that had a private deck looking onto the Petco Park Stadium (San Diego Padres Baseball Stadium) that night comic-con was going on and they were having a concert with Linkin Park, G-eazy performing and I even got to see channing tatum. It was sweet. So yes, we basically got a private concert from our nice little deck where we were staying. we also got to go kayaking in the ocean where we saw a dolphin, sea lions, and lots of birds! we beached it the next day and went boogie boarding! Best time ever. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! we rented bikes and rode all along the board walk from pacific beach to mission beach.

not to mention my family has the cutest girls alive. i mean look at how cute my cousins and gram cracker (g-ma), mom, sister, aunts, and cousins sister in law are. They are simply thee best.

This trip made me realize how amazing the women in my family truly are. we are all so close and get along so well and I am so thankful for that! i know that no matter what we will always support each other and take care of each other. I am grateful for sisterly bonds that will last for eternity.

bear lake

who doesn't love a spontaneous best friends girls weekend get away for a lake? I know i love it!

for the past four years of my life i have grown to have 4 best friends, unfortunately one wasn't able to make it this weekend but 3 did. me, mckell, madeline, annie and arikka have honestly “stuck together through it all.”

have have endured countless hours of bruiting cheer games, practices, and performances. we have been happy and sad for each other with boys that come into each of our lives. and not to mention we just get eachother. ya know when a group of people get together and it just works? well… that how it is with my best friends.

this weekend getaway was a last sha-bang before we al go our separate ways to college this fall. annie is going to westminster, me and mckell are going to uvu, madeline is going to BYU and arikka is going to BYU- hawaii.

our weekend consisted of leaving in the early morning to arrive at the lake at a decent time, country music in annies big red truck and the beautiful country side road.

it was raspberries days so of course we had delicious raspberry shakes! YUM! and we had a cinnamon roll the size of us and it was discusting. totally rock solid and nasty. ewwwww. haha but it was from a sketchy truck stop so what can you expect?

we went to the rope swing at bloomington lake and it was SO fun! we made annie get over her fear and just do it. a little girl persuaded her bribing her with this little story-

(little girl) “ well ya know i am scared to go off that rope swing as well. but i will give you my last piece of halloween candy i have if you jump.”

hahahah. how could you not go after that bribe? it was her LAST piece of halloweeen candy…ya know! from like 10,000 days ago. sounds irrestisable to me.

we stayed in the cutest cottage because the woman who booked our room at our cabin was a old as a dinosaur and booked us for the wrong night and luckily we had friends staying down there who let us stay in their brothers house. we were blessed.

we were able to attend the ward down there on sunday and they only have about to wards in bear lake and it was soooo busy because of raspberries days that the church was so packed there were people in the rooms taking the sacrament because it was too full in the chapel.

what a wonderful week with my best friends.

i am going to be so sad in the fall (about 20 days) when we all start school and wont be seeing each other very often. so to my girls:

thank you for simply always being there for me and supporting me in everything i do. ill be looking forward to this next exciting chapter of our lives together and i cant wait to see what the future holds for each of us <3

raspberries days was going on .... YUMMYYYYYY

he had to shower like this... talk about complicated but it created a lot of laughs

cute little shed on our way to the rodeo

cole wanted a challenge

can't believe we won't all be together

rope swing (bloomington lake)

summer makes me reallllll happy :)

my gift from above

san diego LDS Temple

this will be a simple post but it has the most meaning out of any post. it was a profound day july 12th 2014.. it was the day i had the great blessing and opportunity to receive my endowments and go through the temple. i went through the bountiful LDS temple and it was the most amazing experience of my life. i know without a doubt the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the correct church on the earth. I have an unshakable testimony of that and I cherish that gift more than any gift i could ever receive. (i received them just because i wanted to and i felt i was ready for them)

anthony

i would have never expected this to happen. remember my earlier post when i talked about plans changing for the best? anthony is one of those plans that changed. i never had a boyfriend in high school, it wasn't that important to me and i just was the type of girl who went on dates but wasn't that involved with any one person. i didn't want to get distracted from MY plans to serve a mission and such but y plan again wasn't the same as the Lords plan.

the story of anthony & I is sorta a crazy one. we met about 4 years ago. my step dad and his dad went to college together for a bit and got to know each other that way. when anthony was leaving for his mission i had no idea who he was. i had never met him before. my step dad wanted me to attend his farewell with him so he didn't have to sit alone. i agreed that i could go. i don't recall anything from his farewell in particular except for that after he gave his talk we attended a brunch at his home and i ate my food and walked down the stairs to wish him good luck on his mission.

it was at that moment i got a little nervous to tell him that. he was cute, and older than i was, i didn't know him but i knew he was cute.

that was all… we never wrote, we never talked until about 5 months ago.

when i was trying to figure out my scholarship situation anthony came into my life again. he had attended BYU- hawaii for one year prior to serving his mission and since i was planning on attending that school my step dad jon thought it'd be a good idea to talk to him and get info abut that school. he got my number and started t answer some questions that i had. i told him about my scholarship from uvu and how i decided to attended there in the gal instead of BYU- hawaii.

it was then that my life started to change courses. he asked me if i wanted to go out with him sometime.

I mean… he made it kind of sound like it was more of a hang out… we planned our first date/hangout. i didn't know what it was. i hadn't seen this kid since his farewell… i didn't know if he was weird or not.. hah so of course i did the thing we would all do… i stalked him on social media and i was like dangggggg. hello hello cutie. he was beyond handsome. i couldn't wait to meet him. it was that time to go on our date/hangout. since i wasn't sure what it was i brought money to pay for my own stuff. we went to sushi and he payed the bill. at that moment i relized it was a date and i already felt silly because from the moment he walked into my door i already liked this kid.

that first date was the start of it all. i can honestly say that it just worked between us. he instantly became my best friend and we have been inserpeable ever since.

we have grown to help each other and care for each other so much this summer that its not that i want him, i need him. he is my other half. he just gets me.

i went to lake powell with him and his family when i got home from thailand (litterally when i got home) i flew home from japan and got in at about 2 pm on july 2nd and two hours later i went to lake powell. but i loved every second of it.

i think one of the reasons i like Anth so much is because of his family. they are the most amazing people i have ever met. they have made me feel so welcome in their home and i know that they like me. it makes things so much easier when you know their family likes you. they are always doing such fun things and i love to spend time with them. anthiny couldn't have come from a better family. i adore them.

so pretty much…anthony came into my life for a reason. i know that without a doubt. he is a blessing and i am so thankful for him.

one of the reasons why i just adore him is because he does things for me that are so meaningful… big and small. i have found qualities in him that i have never seen in any other guy before.

~ he remembers what i say and why i say it (thats huge to me)

~ when i got out of the water in lake powell he always had a nice dry towel ready for me

~ one time he got off work and showed up to me house with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers

~ he does surprise dates for me (letting go of lanterns and more)

~ he always makes sure he tells me how much he cares for me

~ i have never seen him negative or upset about anything.

~ he is amazing at soccer (plays for the University of Utah)…. GO UTES!

~ and the most important one to me, he loves our Savior more than anything and i know he strives to live the gospel each day and he succeds at doing so.

what more could i ask for?

Au La ‘Oe