Friday, September 27, 2013

Flashback: 2 Temples in a Day. Rexburrrg here I come.

Today I was able to go to 2 temples in one day on the way up to Rexburg! It was so cool!
Temple #1: Manti Temple with my cousin Olivia

Temple #2: Salt Lake City Temple (my favorite as a kid)

Side note: On the way up we had to pull over to the side of the road on the off ramp so I could switch my mom spots so I could drive and she work and I took a picture in the sunflowers on the side of the road :)
So college thus far has been wonderful. I absolutely love it. My roommates are awesome and we stay up til all hours of the night talking, having fun, watching movies and then do homework. Sometimes we stay up doing fun things then think to my self oh... i have homework. Dang it I'm going to be staying up late again doing homework. But then I think. Ya know, its college I'm here to have fun AND get an education so if I'm a little behind on sleep during the week oh well. I'll just sleep in on the weekend.

My roommates and I
Crazy late nights with crazy hair... (its how i get all the guys)



Some pictures of my room

The friends I have been making are crazy awesome. Our FHE group is literally the best thing ever and we and the rest and our friend group have so much fun together. Yesterday some of us made a walmart run and there wasn't enough room in the car so 2 people got to sit in the trunk. It was so fun. Except for the fact that WALMART CARRIES NOTHING THAT I NEED. *rage* Even a casserole dish. This is a mormon town for crying out loud!!! But whatever. Im over it. Now i don't have to find a ride down there. Also on sunday nights there is this thing called "Stadium Singing" where anyone can go to the stadium and we all sing random hymns for 30 minutes. It is so cool and so much fun. We stand under the bleachers (which basically acts like a vaulted sealing) and sing together. Its so cool.
Party car on the way to walmart.

I had to laugh a little when I saw the sign. Not that it applied to me but I just thought it was kinda funny

Going to Stadium Singing

One of the best things about Rexburg is the temple. The Rexburg temple is literally about a 5-10 walk away from our dorm complexes. Our friend group always makes it a priority to go to the temple and we usually go more than once a week. Its so much going with friends and it is amazing how much of a priority it is in our lives. It is so impressive to me how some of the guys will literally drop everything they are doing to go to the temple (assuming they don't have a class). Yesterday I did a crazy thing and went to do baptisms 45 minutes before I had a class, but in the end I was so glad that I went. Since I've been here I have been excited to possibly meet someone who knew my family when they lived here years ago. My dad basically grew up here and my grandpa was the librarian when BYUI was still Ricks College. I feel like a lot more people who  have lived here for a long time should know my grandpa because to me he should be famous but ya know he probably really isn't but I think he is. :) Anyways so I'm in doing confirmations and I give them my last name and they get through the names and after I get up and shake the priesthood holder's hands the recorder asks, "do you by chance know a Larry Ostler?" I immediately get so excited that someone knew him and told him, "Yes! He's my grandpa!" He went on to say that he used to work with my grandpa in the library and asked where he was living and how he was doing and such and told me to say hi. Then the person who confirmed me asked if I knew a Dr. Ostler which I said I didn't (but now looking back on it may have been my grandma) but he said that they were almost as famous as my grandpa. Anyways that whole experience made my day. But anyways, the temple is great and I can't wait until I can go do other work in there in a few months. 

            
Late night walks to the temple with my friends

It is so beautiful here too. Oh my heavens. I think that its partially because there isn't any smog but oh gosh it is soooo pretty here. Another crazy thing is that soooo many people are married and some people have multiple kids. Holy cow... how do you have kids while you're in school?!? Like what? I could never. I understand getting married (in your 3+ year) but kids may be a bit much. Another crazy rule is that we are not allowed to text while crossing the street. Why? I don't know. Probably just a safety thing but it makes me think im not in california anymore toto.

A beautiful rainbow after a rain last week. There was another one above that but it didn't get captured


Beautiful Rexburg, ID

Another cool thing about BYUI is their devotionals. It is a time where for an hour the whole school shuts down (even the wifi) and everyone flocks to the I-Center (the sister to the conference center in SLC). This week we had and apostle of the Lord speak to us. Elder Christofferson gave a beautiful talk on Joseph Smith. The spirit was so strong in the meeting and many tears were shed. As he walked in though the whole auditorium (which seats 15,000 people) stood up and was pin drop silent out of respect. You could physically feel the spirit enter the room. It was amazing. I felt the spirit testify that this man is called of God and is an apostle of the Lord. It was amazing. Afterwards, as we were walking out we went up to the front to capture a picture of him, the security guard said, "you know if you want to shake his hand there is a line starting over there" pointing to the exit. My roommate and I got so excited and rushed over to get in line. We were able to shake his hand. It was so cool. 
Elder D. Todd Christofferson after devotional


Thursday, September 12, 2013

So I have decided to create this blog because so many people have told me to keep them posted about my life and college, etc and frankly, I have lost track. So here is something that you all can look at with what I'm doing with my life. And hopefully I'll update it frequently. No promises though. Also it will probably turn into my mission blog once I leave in the spring :) Enjoy!