Firsts

Taylor and I went to his Golden Key dinner and my Mom realized we were matchy-matchy just like my sister likes to do with her husband!  So of course my Mom had to take a picture and send it to Carlie!

Gray and black (This is Taylor and my first matchy-matchy photo!)

Unfortunately, I was sick last week and to make me feel better while I was in orientation, Taylor brought over a little surprise!

A nice note and some kisses and bubbles inside the bag!

The next day was my first day on the floor so the kisses he gave me the night before were a nice little happy snack to eat during my lunch break.

And I got to experience my first real job traffic jam on my way home from work!

Here's a nice note my Mom wrote for me that I woke up to at 4 am to read before heading to work

And later that week I received my first paycheck in the mail!  This is me so happy!

Hexa-flexa-gon note

Long phone calls like back in the old days.  Yes, I had to plug my phone in, otherwise it would've died, since apparently, Taylor's and my conversations never seem to die....They just go on and on and on. :)

 Playing basketball in the garage with Will and Pax

 Just Dance! Sav and Ella getting their groove on!

 Then all the kids saw Sav and Ella having so much fun they decided to join in.  (You should hear JD sing and dance along...it's adorable, especially since he makes up his own lyrics.)

Will, Eliza, JD-backwards, Ella, Sav, Pax

Pax and Will duking it out (notice the JD intensity stare on the ipad haha)

Wheeler Farm visit!

 All the goats and sheep loved us.  (A rooster loved me so much it tried to attack Taylor.)

 Look at all the geese and ducks that we danced in the middle of!

 Dancing to music on my iphone!  I feel like my smile is super cheesy but only because I swear one duck was trying to nibble my fingers and I was preoccupied with that.

 Cooking veggie burgers!

Yum! Taylor added popcorn as well as corn as a side.  Sometimes I don't know what boys are thinking.

 And such sweet nice notes

Hexa-hexa-flexa-gon note.  6 sides, all different, all changing!  Still need to find the 6th side....

And the quarry!

You can see where the pioneers cut into the granite

Granite!

Yes I slid into the water

Nice note; Save your city

My relief society leader wrote me a note that said
Kelsey, I'm so impressed by you. You're so successful in everything
you do. You're going to do incredible things in this world. You're
very strong and you know what you want. I love that people feel
empowered when they're around you. It's a great influence. You're a
beautiful woman whose beauty shines from the inside out. I have loved
being in the same Relief Society as you. I love you!

I thought that was really nice to be told that I help empower people.  That's something I want to do as a nurse.  I'm glad I'm accomplishing it as well in my social group.   I think the most important thing you can do is empower others to help themselves.  I'd rather give someone knowledge so they can make a change rather than forcing a change on someone who doesn't know how to keep that change permanent.  Maybe one day I can do some type of education for  people who are also US citizens so they can better their lives and their health.
I know most people want to go to another country to save the world.  But I think your own small world needs saving first.  There are so many sad statistics that I hear about in my nursing classes and on the news.  Why focus on other countries when the US needs our help?  Can't you save the trip money and help your neighbor?  Anyways, sometimes it's a pet peeve of mine when someone is so gung-ho about saving some village in the Congo.  Yes, those people need help, but not money.  They need education and maybe just a small improvement on something they already have....after all, they've survived this far....they must be pretty competent and creative; don't pity them.  And hey, look at your neighbor who has a pregnant teenage daughter.  Why don't you go to the schools and talk about safe sex ed or be an example of someone that teenage person can look up to and want to be like...
I guess you can tell it's a pet peeve, huh?

I think the biggest difference anyone will make is in their own home, their family, and their neighborhood.  You're there most the days of your life anyway...not someplace in the Congo.

*I really do love all people everywhere.  I am especially thankful to be a US citizen and have all the freedoms and opportunities I enjoy on a daily basis.  I only wish that perhaps we could focus more on solving our own US problems first before we go tell other countries how to operate.