Quick Catch-up!

Thanks to the watchful eye of a few friends, I have come to realize that I have not updated this blog since May! That is WAY too long a time! Not only did I go through a whole summer of camp but I'm a week away from being done with my first semester of Grad School! I suppose this is going to be quite a lengthy blog of catch-up.

So in June I went back to Trefoil Ranch for my 3rd summer. There were quite a few changes and it was pretty rocky the whole summer. I love Trefoil Ranch and I'm always happy to go back there! Only this year... I've never had to deal with so much drama before in my life! Those who know me well know how big of a place Trefoil has in my heart. It has given me some of the greatest friends, changed my viewpoint on so many things (heck - it gave me the idea for my Senior Thesis!), and helped me to open up. This summer all of that seemed to come tumbling down. I won't go into much detail other than there were times I felt suppressed, unappreciated, used, and overall like I was just a piece to be used in some stupid boardgame. Sadly a part of Trefoil died for me... On the bright side! It wasn't ALL so bad :-) I did get quite a few new friends out of it and made some pretty happy and amusing memories. There are several events that occurred this summer that will stay with me for a long time! I'm still debating whether I should go back. It would be nice to have one last summer of fun before I have to go off and join the real world of working... That and I want to go back and see if I can fix my hurt perceptions. I really don't want to leave Trefoil on a somewhat ill note. We'll have to see I suppose. It all depends on what happens in the next few months!

After a summer of family and friend filled adventures, I packed up and once again made the long trek down to Cedar City. It took me a few weeks to really settle into life down here. The majority of my friends were no longer here, it seemed like I was drowning in freshmen, and my heart just wasn't into it. I struggled for quite a while but finally was able to pull out on top. I've since gotten into the groove of classes and made some new friends (though none can really replace you oldies!). The end of the semester is in sight and after that I just have one more to go! As painful and overwhelming as grad school is - it's nice to know that in just one extra year of schooling I will not only have my Bachelor's degree but also my Masters. There's nothing too shabby about that :-)

Now for a few random pictures to sum everything up!



Being silly with friends



Late night S'more parties!



Being Silly for Skits




Me and my bestest camp buddy Boots



Dressing up hardcore!



I love being outdoors!



Video time! This is from Camporee when we had over 600 girls at Trefoil at once. For campfire that night we decided to do a Harry Potter theme and we got some crowd participation. Those of you familiar with Potter Puppet Pals might want to watch this...




There have been many a hot chocolate run this semester!



My puppy is getting big!



Only in Cedar City do you get a parade in which they herd sheep down mainstreet - awesome!



I ran another 5k and beat my time from spring!



Two of my absolute favorite people in the world! (This picture isn't from this semester but a friend just posted it to facebook)



In October I had an awesome weekend in which 3 camp buddies came to visit - as you can see We had a blast!!









We had an awesome time hosting and participating in a Murder Mystery Party!



My roommate and I are complete nerds and went to Walmart and midnight to buy Star Trek.



Last and certainly not least my many trips home! It is so nice to know that my escape is only a few hours away. I love my family :-)




Ok I lied! That's not quite the end - This summer my dad took me, my sister and my mom up to Francis Peak. For those who don't know - Francis Peak is the USAF radar site just above Farmington. If you look to the mountains and see what looks like golf balls on the mountain - that's Francis Peak! I've heard so many stories about this place and it was fun to finally be able to see it! I don't know if I can ever make the drive again (Dirt, STEEP, rocky, sharp cliffs, 9,200+ ft! UGh! I almost had a heartattack! I had to keep my head covered most of the trip to stop from freaking out!) but it was fun nonetheless. The video below was taken inside one of the "golf balls." It was surreal! It felt a bit like the setting for some kind of Star Wars scene... anyways - enjoy!