i know this is your second.. but..

18 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ON THIS DAY

1.  YOU ARE LOVED BY SO MANY PEOPLE. THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW, AND THEY ADMIRE THE THINGS YOU DO. YOU ARE SUCH A LIGHT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND IT HAS BEEN A JOY TO GROW UP WITH YOU THESE LAST 18 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE :) SO HAPPY.
2. WE SHARE SO MANY MEMORIES TOGETHER! THERE IS NOT ONE DULL MEMORY THAT I HAVE WITH YOU, THEY HAVE ALL BEEN ADVENTURES THAT I WILL CHERISH FOREVER. THANK YOU :)
   
3. YOU ARE SO FIRMLY PLANTED IN THE GOSPEL, AND YOUR TESTIMONY IS SO STRONG. YOU MAKE ME WANT TO BE A BETTER PERSON, JUST BY THE WAY YOU ACT.
4. YOU ARE GORGEOUS. EVEN WITHOUT MAKEUP ON. YOU ARE JUST NATURALLY PRETTY. BOTH INSIDE AND OUT :) ON GOOD DAYS, I FEEL LIKE I CAN LOOK 1/8 OF YOUR PRETTYNESS, AND I AM SATISFIED WITH THAT.
5. YOU ARE A GENIUS. YOU HAVE A STELLAR VOCABULARY AND CAN SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH EASE. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A BIT JEALOUS THAT MY YOUNGER SISTER WAS SMARTER THAN I WAS, BUT THERE  ISN'T REALLY ANYTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. YOU EARNED IT. :)
6. YOU GIVE THE BEST ADVICE AND HELP ME GET THROUGH MY DAY WITHOUT ANY WORRIES. I HAVE CALLED YOU COUNTLESS TIMES BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HAVING A ROUGH DAY, AND YOU WILL DROP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, JUST TO LISTEN TO ME RANT ON ABOUT MY DAY. I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS :) THANK YOU.
7. YOU ARE SO ARTISTICALLY TALENTED- IN SINGING AND DRAWING AND WRITING! IT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE. I LOVE HEARING YOU SING, EVEN IF IT'S JUST ME WALKING INTO YOUR ROOM WHILE YOU ARE IN THE SHOWER, I CAN STILL HEAR YOU, AND IT'S SO MELODIOUS. I'M GLAD YOU DON'T JUDGE ME, CUZ I CAN'T SING, BUT YOU STILL LET ME SLAUGHTER SONGS WHEN WE PARTY IN YOUR ROOM :)
8. YOU ARE SO ATHLETIC! YOU PLAY ANY SPORT WITH EASE, AND LOOK MIGHTY FINE DOING IT TOO! I LOVE PLAYING SPORTS WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU CHALLENGE ME TO DO MY BEST
9. WHENEVER I'M DOWN IN THE DUMPS, YOU CAN SAY ONE THINGS AND TURN MY DAY AROUND. YOU HAVE A VERY WITTY SENSE OF HUMOR, AND YOU SAY THE RANDOMEST THINGS THAT I CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AFTER HEARING THEM.
10. YOU LET ME BORROW YOUR CLOTHES AND SHOES AND HAIR THINGS.. THANK YOU :)
11. YOU HAVE HELPED ME LOOK PRETTY FOR ANYTHING I ASK, AND YOU HELP ME PICK OUT MY OUTFIT WHEN I HAVE A SPECIAL OCCASION. I'VE NEVER BEEN GOOD WITH FINDING CUTE CLOTHES, OR KNOWING WHAT LOOKS DECENT TOGETHER, SO  THAT HAS HELPED IN MANY ASPECTS.
12. YOU ARE SO UNSELFISH AND NON-JUDGMENTAL. YOU ARE SO NICE TO EVERYONE, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETE JERKS TO YOU. WHENEVER YOU HEAR SOMETHING BAD BEING SAID ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE, YOU CHANGE THE SUBJECT! YOU ARE JUST SO GOOD! :)
13. YOU THINK I'M FUNNY AND PRETTY, AND YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF. YOU CAN DEFINITELY BOOST MY CONFIDENCE. WHENEVER  WE GO SOMEWHERE TOGETHER, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MY BACK AND WILL STICK BY MY SIDE, EVEN IF 'M BEING COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.
14. YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME, NO MATTER HOW DUMB MY PROBLEM IS. YOU DON'T INTERRUPT ME WHEN I AM TALKING, AND JUST LISTEN. IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK TO.
15. I CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT ANYTHING TOO! YOU DON'T MAKE ANYTHING AWKWARD TO TALK ABOUT, SO WE CAN JUST CHAT FOR HOURS, OR EVEN SIT IN SILENCE AND ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY. IT'S NICE.
16. YOU ARE MY HERO. I ADMIRE EVERYTHING YOU DO. YOU DO EVERYTHING WITH PERFECTION AND IT PUSHES ME TO BE BETTER.
17. I LOVE YOU SO INFINITELY MUCH. I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE MY SISTER, AND MY BEST FRIEND. YOU ARE AMAZING AND I HOPE THAT I CAN GROW TO BE HALF OF THE GIRL THAT YOU ARE TODAY.
18. I HOPE YOU HAVE THE HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER! I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO CELEBRATE IT WITH YOU, BUT I AM THINKING OF YOU AND WISH YOU A HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY RISS! :)

 THERE ARE MANY MORE THINGS ABOUT YOU THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW, BUT MY MIND HAS DRAWN A BLANK. THE MAIN POINT IS, THAT I LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO FOR ME, EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK THAT THEY MEAN A LOT, THEY REALLY DO. I LOVE YOU. :)

First Letter! :)

need i say more? :)

Based on a True Story

*names of people and places have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

     Once upon a time, there was this girl. Hmmm.. let's name her Rachel* :) good plan. So Rachel loved her life. She graduated high school and went to college down south with her cousin, Kasha.* Rachel and Kasha had a lot of fun in college. They met some pretty cool people and did some awesome stuff- like go to classes and study in the library.. cuz that's what people do in college. Of course.

      Rachel and Kasha were LDS, so they would go to Family Home Evening every Monday. One of the first times they went, the ward played frisbee. Rachel and Kasha scoped the field for some cute guys, which Kasha had no luck, but there was one in particular that caught Rachel's eye. He had red hair, super nice legs, and he seemed really funny. Rachel vowed to herself that one day, she would go on at least one date with that attractive male. 
      But sadly, Rachel didn't see him for the rest of the semester.. :( sad day. and he was soon forgotten.
      THEN one day, Rachel and Kasha went to church, and these two random guys that they rarely ever saw came and sat next to them. One of them had green eyes and brown hair, the other had bright blue eyes and red hair. Rachel recognized the redhead from the first FHE ever, and got pretty happy. They introduced themselves as Steven* and Kelton.* The guys seemed way nice, but no numbers were exchanged, and Rachel and Kasha figured nothing would come from it. Rats.
      The next day, Rachel was invited to go play frisbee with some other friends from school. Since she enjoyed frisbee, she agreed and went. When she got out of the car, she noticed one guy in particular- it happened to be one of the guys that sat next to her at church! THE REDHEAD, Kelton! :) Rachel was pretty excited. Yes she was. She didn't dare to talk with him because she didn't want to look desperate or something. Plus, he was AMAZING at frisbee, that's a bit intimidating.
      She kept going to frisbee, just so she could see this devilishly handsome redhead, and possibly become friends with him. Little did she know, but he secretly had a thing for her, but was very shy.
      Anyways, continuing on with the story.. That Friday was the Institute Opening Social. it was a dance,and Rachel and Kasha always went to these types of things. They loved dancing. :) Fun stuff. Rachel went to frisbee the day of the opening social, and all of the people there asked her if she was going to go. She said yes, hoping that Kelton would go too! Rachel and Kasha went that night, talking and being super outgoing, just because they were both in spectacular moods. Throughout the night, they each danced with multiple young men, and even hung around with Kelton a bit, which made Rachel very giddy- she had developed a little crush on this boy. When he asked her to dance, she beamed with excitement. They had not talked much outside of frisbee, so this was a huge step. They were both a little shy, but enjoyed it so much that they started dancing into the next song, which also happened to be a slow song! Rachel loved dancing with Kelton and was angry when another man stepped in to ask her to dance, because she was already dancing!  Kelton was nice enough to let him dance with her. Darn. The night continued, and Kelton stuck around Kasha and Rachel, making fun of their awesome dance moves and such. When the last song came on, it appeared that neither of these young girls would be asked, so they walked towards the exit. But out of the blue, two young men came up to them! How happy- it was Kelton and his friend :) :) :) Kelton and Rachel danced together for the last song. Rachel couldn't even believe it. She went home on a cloud and she was smitten immediately by Kelton :)

Angel's Landing

       Then nothing really happened between her and Kelton. I mean, they talked at frisbee, and sat next to each other at church, but Rachel waited for him to ask her on a date. Didn't happen. Until they went to the temple as a ward, she challenged him to a milkshake eating contest, bet dinner on it, and DOMINATED. :) that's right folks, she dominated him and he now owed her dinner. Rachel had to give him her number. Rachel thought it was because he was too chicken to ask such a beauty for her number, but later found out it was because Kelton was kinda dating someone else and didn't want to seem like a player.. Personally, i believe them both equally :) So they started hanging out a lot. Like almost everyday. :) Rachel was loving life even more than usual!
       She was heartbroken when she found out that he had a girlfriend, but when he told her that he was dumped his girlfriend for another girl, Rachel was happy- even though she didn't know he dumped his girl for HER! :) yay.
       So, long story short, Rachel and Kelton dated. They were serendipitous. They fell in love.

Rachel and Kelton :)

       Summer came, and that was pretty difficult. They had only been dating 2 months and wondered if a "long-distance relationship" could work for such a new couple. (Long distance, not really. But Rachel lived in Orem,* while Kelton was from a small town called Paragonah.* It was 3 hours away.) They decided to give it a shot. He visited her and her family for the weekend. Her family fell in love with him as well. Rachel's mom did not like the idea of Rachel dating a pre-missionary, but Rachel couldn't help it. Rachel visited him down south and this went back and forth all summer, and they valued every second they had together. (Oh yeah, Kelton got a mission call to serve in Minneapolis, Minnesota* speaking Hmong! :) random side note.)

      When school started up again, Kelton did not return because his mission was before the semester ended. For for weeks, he would visit Rachel and Kasha. Kelton and Rachel knew the day of his leaving was coming up, but tried to live in the moment and enjoy each other (even they were always with Rachel's roommates).
      Then, on September 12, they said goodbye. Rachel was sad and spent some time crying. Kelton cried a bit, but not near as much as Rachel did. Kelton left for the MTC on September 14, 2011. Yesterday. Last I heard, Rachel is doing well, and is super excited for her man to be out serving the Lord.

Kelton and Rachel :)

THE END.

for now

it's raining in cedar city

how appropriate.
let's hope there isn't a flash flood or anything.

quickest post EVER

i've been lacking in title creativity lately, but my battery is running low. well. this will have to do.

       These days, there is so much technology. STYX said it best in 1983, with their song, Mr. Roboto. "the problem's plain to see, too much technology.." 1983. they thought they had too much technology. ha! that was almost 30 years ago. my my my how times have changed. (not that i was alive then) :)

i think there should be a lot more deep thought and meditation, but there is never any time because iTunes is always on, out phones are kept right by our sides, and it is very hard to actually escape from all of this technology stuff.

knitting a nice scarf. duh

--> The other day, I was walking home from school. I had my iPod in, and then remembered that we talked about listening to the spirit in institute. I figured that i would turn my iPod off and just listen to the world around me as i walked home. holy cow. it was just what i needed. I could still hear the cars flying past me, but i could also hear the birds, and my own footsteps. and my thoughts. I COULD HEAR MYSELF THINK! it was very nice. it made me happy. i love the world.

Honestly, I wish i lived 50 years ago. life was so simple. no email, no texting, no Internet! They could just sit on the porch without having to worry about their phone or computer. that would be the life. And with all of this technology, and with it becoming more advanced, it will be difficult to just sit on my porch with my hubby when i am 80, talking and listening to the sound of nature.. but i'll do it.

well. that's my thoughts for today. have a good one, enjoy the picture of a grandma knitting. 

-raela