The Four Year Wait for Ribs



Scoot was being a pain in the butt when I tried to get a picture of us in the car!

So many good memories with this kid!

Finally forced him into a picture at the doorstep!







Flashback to my first day of ninth grade.  I'm in this new town at this scary school and I don't know a soul!  When I get to Seminary, the teacher starts talking about his "inspired" seating chart.  I start looking around the room, wondering which cute boy God wanted me to sit by.  I ended up next to this boy that I recognized from the gym class I had earlier that day, and I instantly started judging.  He was obviously a football player, so he was obviously a tool.  He was wearing a jacket that said he was Student Body President, so he was obviously stuck up.  To make things worse, I was still in that awkward, shy new girl phase.  So, when he turned to me and said hi, I smiled and went back to what I was doing.  I was totally intimidated by this kid!
About a week later, we had a PACER test in gym class.  This was basically an endurance test.  When I lasted for twice as long as any other girl and outlasted ninety percent of the boys, people started noticing the quiet new girl.  When I sat down in Seminary later that day, Scooter, on yet another valiant attempt to reach out to me, said, "Wow, good job today, you're a really good runner, Meghan."  He found that key to winning me over: he complimented my running!  Next thing I knew, we were best friends.  We had an awesome handshake and everything!  He was the first friend I had in Layton, and he was the one that introduced me to a lot of the other friends I eventually made.
During one of our talks, we somehow started talking about ribs.  I told him about how I always get sauce all over my face whenever I eat them, and that my parents had told me I could never eat them on a date.  He laughed and said that his brother had told him the same thing.  So, we made a plan.  On my sixteenth birthday, he would take me on my first date, and we would get ribs, just to spite everyone!
Well, I didn't stay in Layton long enough to see that day come.  Whenever he would come down here or I would go up there, we would try to get ribs, but it never quite worked out.  Last week, he came down with his family and, knowing that this could be the last time we see each other before his mission, we made getting ribs a priority.  It was so much fun!  First, we went to go see Batman (which was SUCH a good movie!).  Even though we were getting ribs after, Scoot bought us the extra large popcorn combo and we totally stuffed ourselves.  When we got to Texas Roadhouse and FINALLY got our ribs, we stuffed ourselves again, but enjoyed every last second of it!  Then, he wanted to go get sno cones since he knew how obsessed I am with them. 
We had quite the adventure getting to the Sno Shack!  I kind of might have led him on a wild goose chase around town since he didn't know where he was.  I kept saying "Well, you could turn left here, or you could go right" and "Guess where you go now!"  We ended up going from Texas Roadhouse through Washington, around Little Valley, to Bloomington Hills, down the roundabout, through Bloomington, up to Green Valley, over the new overpass, around the Temple, and down to the Sno Shack.  It was funny, and we enjoyed having more time to talk!  We had so many great memories to reminisce about.  I've sure missed him!

SUU Orientation

The Orientation Part

WOW, I can't believe that this whole SUU thing is actually becoming real!  It's so exciting.  I was super nervous about going up there, but I totally lucked out and had my orientation the same day as Jake (Ya I know, that poor guy has got to be so sick of me already!).  We drove up early that morning and went straight to Heidi's house so she could show us where to go.  We got our Student IDs and walked around the building looking at different programs.  We went into a small auditorium where they did a couple drawings before splitting us into groups.  Jake was the first name drawn and I'm slightly jealous of the sweet socks he won. 

We went into groups with people who shared our major.  My group was really quiet, but none of us knew each other, so I didn't expect anything different.  However, I was relieved when lunch came and I could sit at the Honors Table with Jake instead of still trying to make small talk with the Psychology Majors.  We visited Heidi at work and went to a few more classes.  There was one last drawing, and I won a T-shirt.  It was way funny that Jake and I both won!

After Orientation, Jake and I went to Lin's to turn in his application, and then grabbed a snack at Great Harvest.  Heidi was still working, so we just went back to her house and chilled for awhile.

The Fun Part

Jake humoring me for a picture



Heidi and Jake

When Heidi got back from work, we went on an adventure with her and some of her friends.  We had planned on doing the Kanarraville Falls Hike, but it was stormy so we were doubting the safety of the idea.  We started walking to the trailhead when someone drove by and told us there were flash flood warnings in the canyon.  We joked that he was one of the Three Nephites and had intervened to save our lives. 

Even though the slot canyon wasn't a great idea, we all still wanted to go for a hike.  We drove around to a random trail and started driving up it, but noticed a "No Trespassing" sign and saw an elderly couple up ahead.  My first thought was "Oh great, we're intruding on this grumpy old couple's property, let's get out of here!"  But, two of the people with us decided to walk up to the people and ask for directions to a good hike.  It turned out that the couple was extremely nice and helpful!  There wasn't room to turn the truck around, so we had to back the whole way out.  Too funny!

We got to the trail the trail we were directed to and had a way fun hike!  We had to keep crossing a river throughout most of the hike, but Jake and one of the other guys made a goal to not get their feet wet.  They did some way crazy leaps across the stream, I was super impressed by both of them!  I didn't think they'd do it, but they sure proved me wrong.  When we started walking back to the car, Jake told me a story about his dad's first date (any story involving that man seems to be hilarious), and I had to stop walking for a minute because I was having such a horrible laugh attack!

We went out to dinner, then it was back to Heidi's house.  She was with a couple friends for awhile, and me and Jake weren't up for socializing with all of her roommates, so we just kinda chilled in her room.  He was pretty excited to put on his new socks.  While we were sitting there, we both were reading our scriptures and writing in our journals.  When I thought about how totally comfortable we were doing this in front of each other, I just kept thinking about how great all of my friends are.  I'm SO glad that I went through high school with amazing people that were open with each other and had the same standards and goals. After we were both finished reading, we just looked up funny memes and things on the Internet. I think we were both pretty exhausted!

The next morning, Jake came with me to see my apartment.  I wanted to get a feel for what I needed to bring and what wall space I would have since I'm obsessed with covering my walls with sentimental things!  After that, we headed home.  It was comforting that the drive was so much shorter than I remembered.  I'm glad I'll be so close to home when I'm up there!

Me, My Friends, and Our Frozen Food

I thought this was pretty funny!  My dad always calls me to say goodnight when he's up North and asks what I'm up to.  Monday, after Kyle's concert, I sitting outside of Yogurtland eating with my friends.  Tuesday, after Institute, I was sitting outside of the Sno Shack eating with my friends.  Wednesday, after Aaron opened his call, I was sitting outside of Frostop eating with my friends.  But hey, what better way to end a day?

Youth Conference/A-Hole is Going to Honduras!

Youth Conference...oh the joys of pretending to still be a youth so that I can get some wakeboarding and free food!  I had the day off of work because the kids were out of town, so I decided to join in on Youth Conference.  I'm glad I did, because it was way fun!  We started out by doing a service project and helping and elderly couple put in a cedar post fence along some of their farm property.  It was hard work!  They had some grandsons there helping and one of them that looked a couple years younger than me seemed really nice, but their older one that was my age seemed extremely annoyed by us and our amateur work.  Despite his doubt in us, we did a great job!  The fence is supposed to last at least 100 years, and it was along a new road, so I could just picture myself driving by and bragging to my future kids about how I helped put that fence in.
After the service project, we went out to the lake.  We started out by having lunch and had some activities planned, but after eating, we all hopped onto the boats before the leaders in charge could stop us.  We were all ready to start tubing/surfing/wakeboarding when one of the leaders sounded a siren to call us back in.  The drivers looked at each other and after one took off, the others followed.  We stayed out on the water until dinner time.  I felt bad for the leaders that had planned so many fun activities, but I honestly think that things worked out for the best.  I definitely enjoyed my time on the boat, and I know that there was a lot of bonding done.
I was the first to wakeboard and it was SO much fun.  None of the girls on the boat knew what they were doing, so even though I hardly got any air, I had a way excited cheering section every time I cut or attempted a jump.  It was a great self-esteem booster!  I loved watching the other girls try to wakeboard and got excited when some of them were able to get up.  Only two of the boys that were with us wakeboarded, the others were too embarrassed to try.
I didn't know my driver very well, in fact I hardly recognized him.  His name was Brother Morgan, but by the end of the day we were all calling him "BroMo."  He was so much fun!  After we all wakeboarded, he brought out the surf board so that we could give that a try.  He had me go first since I knew how to wakeboard.  He ran me through the basics and I finally got up on my fourth try.  Then, we had another leader hop on with us who had a training surfboard and sad on the back of the boat to coach everyone as they gave it a try.  I tried again, but even though I could get up, I could not surf!  It was so different from wakeboarding!  Because I had done so much wakeboarding, I couldn't adjust well.  In the end, I think I was the worst surfer!
When we came in for dinner, I checked my phone and saw that Aaron (Aaron Holden, who we fondly call A-Hole) had invited me to watch him open his mission call!  Brady and Kirsti were leaving early, so I caught a ride home with them and rushed over to Aaron's house.  He only invited a few people, and when he opened it up and read Honduras, I think we all felt comforted and knew that that was where he belonged.  Then, he read the date...August 1st!  That was only three weeks away!!!  It was crazy!  We thought it would be way funny to post on Facebook that he got his call, but not say what it was.  He had plenty of people frantically commenting asking where he was going.  It was weird to see him get ready to go.  He's not my first friend to leave, but he's the first from our group.

Some of my Friends are Rockstars...No Big Deal.

Kyle going acoustic for "33 Miles To Barstow"
(My favorite song!)

Kyle on the electric with Austin T jamming on the drums

Me and Kyle. He may be a rockstar now, but I remember when he was just learning how to play "I've Been Working on the Railroad" on the guitar.

Oh, how I love these fun little concerts!  It's way fun to watch your friends perform!  I've watched Quiet the Titan play at school and at the GOGO37 (R.I.P.), but this was my first time watching them at the Jazzy Java.  It was so much fun!  This was their big EP Release, so I am officially a proud owner of their first CD.  In fact, I even got it signed! Ya, I'm pretty cool like that ;).  Crazy to think that next week will be their last concert. I'm gonna miss these guys!

Those Crazy, Stupid Things I do

Me in Wal-Mart Earlier This Summer

"I get a little bit bigger but then, I admit, I'm just the same as I was. Now, don't you understand? I'm never changing who I am!" -'It's Time' by Imagine Dragons

Life is just full of random, crazy things to do!  I was a lot more mellow before I became friends with Jandee, Courtney, and Emily.  By the time we were out of middle school, they loosened me up quite a bit!  We've all always been a little crazy in our own ways, but I think we all shared our portion of craziness with the others and now we're pretty well-rounded in the crazy department!  I was always the loud, obnoxious, class clown-type crazy.  Emily, was always the freak out, spastic crazy, and the sarcastic, smart aleck crazy.  She's also the craziest driver!  Jandee is the expressive, open, girly crazy.  She's also totally open about bodily functions and completely boy crazy.  Courtney is the climbing, playing with fire, toilet papering-type crazy.  Now, we just get together to make one insane, crazy group.
On of our favorite traditions is riding the "Granny Carts" every time we go to Wal-Mart.  Stupid? Yes. Slow? Yes. Fun? Definitely.  The first time Emily and I did it, we wore a fake knee brace so we wouldn't get caught.  However, we eventually learned that you don't need any props or anything.  If you just master the "bored look" like you can see in the picture, no one will ever question you.  It's so much fun!
I love doing those crazy, stupid things I do!  I know that I face a lot of "growing up" over these next few years and that I will probably change in a lot of different ways.  However, I know that I will always be me, and that's what truly matters!  We are all meant to grow and develop and mature, and all of these things require change.  However, I know that even though I will change, I will never become an entirely new person.  Although the crazy things I do will probably be a lot different from the crazy things I do now, I know that I will always be doing those crazy, stupid things I do.

Girls Camp!!!

Technically, I'm not in Young Women's anymore...crazy!  However, the stake invited graduated girls to come up to camp to help out with their wards.  So, I found myself in this awkward not-just-a-girl-but-not-quite-a-leader stage...I loved it! I was able to help out with Solo Time and some devotionals, but I still got to sleep with the girls and participate in all the games.  I didn't have to do certification or anything, either. Loved it!  I got to go to several meetings with the ward and help plan, and they were actually pretty fun!

The Fortress

Ward Theme: "Arise and Shine Forth Through Fabulous Friendships"

The "Fortress of Fabulosity"

Celebrating 100 Years of Camp

The Sleeping Arrangement 

 

 

One of the things we got most excited about as we planned Girls Camp was our "Fortress of Fabulosity."  I've been to four different Girls Camps at Cedar Mountain since I was twelve, but this was the first time that we didn't stay in tents.  Instead, each ward had its own little bunker.  As much as I love/prefer "roughing it" a little bit, the bunker was a lot of fun, it felt like a giant sleepover!  I came up a day late because of work, but I still got to spend two nights in there.  Each night was, of course, filled with boy talk.  I remember that, as a Beehive, the dating stories the Laurels told were totally enchanting.  When your twelve years old, everything in the boy world still seems so magical!  Well, it took me a little longer than most, but this year I was finally able to share a good story or two, and the young girls just soaked it up and enjoyed every little detail! It was fun to finally be on the other side.

This was also the 100th Year of Girls Camp in the Church, so the Stake asked each ward to do something involving the number 100 to help commemorate the event.  We decided to post "100 Reasons Why We Love Girls Camp" all over the outside of our bunker.  It looked cute, but boy, it sure was a pain to get the stickers off when pack-up day came around!

The Boy Flag

Morgan, Madison Stucki, Taylor Cooney, me, Rachel Milne, Olivia Brooks, Sarah Milne, Whitni Atkin

One of our favorite ward traditions is called the "Boy Flag."  Every year, we get a tablecloth that we designate for writing our crushes names all over it so that, a year later, we can pull it back out, laugh at old memories, and burn it.  Since my whole in between leader and girl stage gave me quite a bit of free time, I covered that flag!  I was writing between letters, inside of other hearts, on the corners, etc.  I know that, even though I'll be gone next year, they will think of me every time they see that flag, because I certainly left my mark!  Good times.

 Finding Neverland

 An extremely unattractive picture of me, Whitni

Oh, how I love my Whitella!  Because I came late and she left early, we only had about one day together at camp, but we certainly made the most of it.  During some of our down time, we decided to make a quest to find "Neverland" so we don't have to grow up and separate this Fall.  We found a lovely place that we claimed to be Neverland, but we eventually decided not to stay there because we both want to get married at some point in life.  We did a few dramatic little role plays there, though, so it was a good time.

Survivor Champions!

Our Fun Ward!

We played a "Survivor Game" the first morning I was there, and we had a total blast!  There were physical, spiritual, cheering, and eating competitions.  In the end, we came out on top. Go LV5!

 

Reflection

Final Time Singing "Light on a Hill"  (I'm in the white in the middle of the second row, and yes, I was crying!)

When we sang the Stake Theme Song one last time, I found myself in tears as I realized that this was my last Girls Camp. I looked around at all the amazing girls in my ward family and thought about how much I was going to miss them.  After the song, Taylor Stewart came up and hugged me and I lost all control.  She reminded me of another family I would soon leave behind: my teammates. 

 Camp "Little Thunder" on Cedar Mountain has always been the place I find myself just before embracing a big change.  First, with BH3 when I was twelve and adjusting to Intermediate School and Young Womens. Second, also with BH3 just before moving to Layton.  Third, with BH3 (as a guest) a year after returning from Layton and just after joining LV5.  Each time, I spent a little while reflecting on all that had changed and how far I had come.  It always touched me to see the way that Camp gave me the strength to face whatever change I was struggling with, or to reflect on all the blessings that had come to my life because of a recent change.  This year, I came to Cedar Mountain just before facing my biggest change yet: going out into the world.  Being up there really helped me realize the beautiful part that the Lord has played in leading my life in this direction and sending me trials that would make me the person that I am.  Before I know it, maybe I'll be back at "Little Thunder" as a full-fledged leader, wife, and mother, and I will more fully be able to understand the Lord's plan for me.