Take a little time to say "I love you"

I just finished watching a documentary on the Tsunami that hit Thailand, Sumatra, and other parts of Asia on December 26th 2004. The movie brought back a lot of emotions that I remember feeling back then. We had just celebrated Christmas, life seemed good, and it seemed so unbelievable that something like this could happen. September 11th had just occurred three years prior and I remember being stunned by the number of people who had died in that. The total number of casualties for September 11th was just under 3,000. The number of people who died or went missing in the 2oo4 tsunami was 225,000. That number is astounding and my mind can't grasp it. 416,000 American soldiers died in WWII. I guess that kind of puts it in perspective. 

Anyways, this post wasn't meant to be a downer but instead a reminder of how important it is to appreciate and value the time with our families. One man in this story lost his ten month old baby when it slipped out of his arms in the flood. Another little boy saw his mother and two little sisters swept away in the water. They both said that they had regrets of not saying or doing something in the moments before the tsunami hit. I never want to feel that regret, I want my family to always know they mean the world to me. 

This reminds me of the October 2007 General Conference talk by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa of the Seventy. He spoke of the importance of not waiting until tomorrow to do the things we can do today, especially in regards to our family. In his talk he quoted the poem "If tomorrow never comes" by Norma Marek. 

"So, just in case tomorrow never comes, and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you, and I hope we never will forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So, if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day

That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss,

And you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,

That you love them very much, and you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "thank you" or "it's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today."

I love you mom, dad, Ali, Amy, Axel, Greg, Andrea, Charlie, cousins, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and friends!

Summer Lovin'

This was one of the most fun summers I have had in a while. Part of it was that I was up here in Rexburg with lots of good friends, the other part was that getting to see my family after so long made family vacations even more fun. Here is the shortened version of my summer fun in Idaho!

Jackie & I moved into Nauvoo House apartments with two other girls. One of our fave past times was squirting people outside of our window as they walked by at night. It was like a guilty pleasure because we felt bad but still laughed our heads off at the people who got wet. 

           

We lucked out with having awesome FHE bros who ended up becoming some of our closest friends. They were getting ready to graduate and knew all the best places to visit in Idaho. We went on hikes, saw waterfalls, went go-karting, played games, and watched movies. I had so much fun with them and I miss them a lot!

My sister Ali came up and visited my in May for Memorial Day. That was one of the funnest (yeah I know thats not a word) weekends I have had since I have been up here. Best memories from that trip:

1. Guy asking to smell Ali's underwear

2. The gross shaped slides

3. The scary noises in the train

Come back to visit soon!!!!

Ali and I decided to surprise our family for 4th of July by driving down to AZ. It was a 4 day weekend but it seemed like it was waaaaaaay to short for the 16 hour drive. But it was totally worth it to see the surprise on everyone's face when we came home. Amy wins for having the best surprised face (see pic below) but mom won for the best reaction. She thought that maybe we had time traveled. Yeah that would be my first though too. Not. :)

Then in July it was my family's turn to come up and visit me in Rexburg. The last time they had been there was in January when it was 5 below and the wind was horrible so I felt like they needed to see the beautiful side of living in Idaho too. We explored a lava tube, stayed in shady hotels, and went to our first rodeo. It was a blast!

Then at the end of July we went on our yearly family vacay and decided to visit San Fran. It was the first time for us kids and we had SUCH a blast. We got to experience a traditional Dim Sum (where we were the only white people in sight), see the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, visit the Monterrey Aquarium, ride segways and go-karts, stay in beautiful hotels, go to an amazing theme park, visit the Jelly Belly museum, and best of all, spend time with our amazing, wonderful cousins. Thanks mom and dad for one of the best Royal trips yet!

And I couldn't talk about my amazing summer without mentioning my partner in crime, roommate, and best friend Jackie. We met in January and have been causing trouble since then. We went on wagon ride trips, camping, picnics, and so much more. It makes life a lot easier up here to have someone so fun to be with.

Now I can only hope that the Fall Semester can be this fun too!