Thanksgiving break

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to experience the celebration of Thanksgiving with a wonderful family in Utah.
It was an amazing trip and I am very grateful that I was able to visit with friends who treated me like I was family, it made me feel as though I was a member of their family which was so nice as I was so far from my own family and friends at this family based occasion.

I took so many bags with me due to the fact that my bags were small and I didn't want to take a large suitcase with me for 6 days. It was a struggle to carry my bags to the bus to Salt Lake City.

It took about 4 hours to get to Salt Lake City airport, I slept for most of the journey just because I had been up early that day to finish a final I had to submit. And also what else is there to do on a bus for 4 hours when you know no one haha. 
I woke up after around 3 hours when we got outside Brigham City and took a 15 minute break, the views after that point were too beautiful for me to sleep! I became memorized by the mountains, what made them especially stunning was the fact that they had snow covered tops. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of the mountains as I was sitting in the isle seat.

Once at Salt Lake City airport I was picked up by my friends daughter, it was so nice to be able to see my friends again and to be able to feel like I was family with them :) 
Us girls went out on Wednesday to go shopping near Provo, I got myself a really nice dress, earrings and some leggings. I feel that when I am around others they make me spend my money! Maybe I should work on being less pursuable to spend my money haha.
I really enjoyed spending the day with my friends and being around them, I laughed so much around them and felt so comfortable.

On Thanksgiving my friend wouldn't let me help her with any of the food preparations, the only thing I was allowed to help with was putting the turkey in the bag and setting the table. 
We had a fun day full of eating and laughing, after we had eaten we played some card games and ate some more food, once it got a bit later the little girls went into the basement and watched a movie whilst the adults played cards against humanity (they were slightly altered to not be so inappropriate).
Once we had played the game for quite some time we decided to go to Walmart as one of the family members' husband wanted to get some Black Friday deals early, we found some things and waited in line for quite some time and finally were served.

The next day I was able to have a girly day with my friend, we went shopping, got ice cream, and stayed up until 12:30 watching movies (late for normal people not college students). We had such a fun day just the two of us hanging out all day. Again I spent quite a bit of money on more clothes....I couldn't help myself, we went to the outlets and there were really good deals, I got christmasy jumpers and normal jumpers, a super soft scarf, more earrings, and some cute blouses. 

We had thanksgiving left overs for the next few days I was there as there was so much good food made!

So I had spoken to one of my best friends from home who is currently at BYU Provo, I had asked her where she was spending her thanksgiving and it turned out that she was staying only a town away from me! I was able to spend a few hours catching up with her on the Saturday evening. It was so nice to see her after 3 months! And to be able to see a close friend at Thanksgiving.

When I was getting ready to come back to BYUI I was very worried about fitting all my things in my bag with all the new clothes I brought over the break, luckily I was able to stuff all my bags full, it was a bit hard to carry to my apartment from the bus but I did it!

As I it is getting so close to Christmas I am getting more ready by the day to come home and see my friends and family!
I have only had 2 breakdowns so I feel I am doing pretty well with the homesickness. I already have my clothes packed in my suitcase I am that ready to go home!

I love being here at BYUI but since this is my first time living away from home and being Christmas time it makes me miss my family and friends more!

I love you all and I cannot wait to see you all at home!

Change in weather and my adventures in the last month

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted I have been very busy with school work and what not, but I will try to keep up as we get closer to christmas.

We had so much fun for halloween this year! It was one of my amazing roommates birthday on Halloween, she had some friends surprise her and visit for the weekend which was super fun. In the evening we all got dressed up and went out for dinner to celebrate, we intended to go to a party but the line to get in was crazy so we decided not to go and to go back to the apartment and to watch some movies. 

For FHE that Monday we had a ward Halloween party, our apartment dressed up as raggedy Anne dolls and had so much fun. Although we didn't win best dressed we had so much fun helping each other with our make up.

In other news it has turned into winter here......it started snowing last Monday evening, me and my roommates got very excited and went out and enjoyed the snow for a while until we got cold, came in then went back out quite a few times haha. It is so beautiful here and I love it! Although it has become very icy and slightly dangerous to walk to campus from the apartment without falling or getting frostbite, it is insanely cold here, it doesn't really get above freezing so you have to bundle up when you go outside every time. Walking to church is so cold as we are wearing our skirts and dresses our legs freeze, its scary as you loose feeling in any part of your body but especially your legs. I now have thermals that I plan on wearing everyday for the rest of the semester, other than Sundays.
But on the plus side, it is so stunning here, when its warm enough to snow I just sit and stare at the snow falling, its such a beautiful thing that Heavenly Father has created and not only is it beautiful but it is enjoyable as well!
My roommates went out in the snow this weekend and came back with what looked like an ordinary branch, but we have transformed it into a Christmas tree! It has gotten us all into the Christmas mood, we plan on getting mistletoe for the apartment and we have already made Christmas cookies, watched Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music, apartment 411 is going all out for Christmas this year.

 My birthday is coming up this weekend and although I am very sad at the thought of my family and best friend not being here, I am so grateful for my roommates and our friendships, I know that this weekend will be amazing and that they will keep me happy as I am away from home.
We have plans to go see the new Hunger Games movie on Friday night into Saturday morning so I will start off my birthday with my amazing friends, we also have plans in the evening on Saturday to go to a restaurant called Olive Gardens, if you haven't been you are missing out!
I know that my roommates will be able to keep me happy and we will have so much fun celebrating together, I just wish I could have my friends and family from home here to celebrate with me.


Thanksgiving is coming up in just a week here and I am going to Utah to stay with an amazing family who I know will make me feel welcome in their home at this time of year.
Thinking of everyone going home next week has caused me to be very homesick recently, I had a little breakdown as my sister facetimed me I don't know what came over me but I couldn't stop crying as I spoke to my sister and mum. I miss my family and friends so much! It doesn't mean I don't love it here because I do and I don't want to leave other than to see my friends and family, I feel like I belong here which I haven't felt that at a school before, I love how I can feel the spirit on campus, I love my friends I have here and am grateful for each one of them and what they have done for me individually.

I hope you are all doing well, I love and miss you all.

My interesting weekend...

So this week was quite normal went to school, did homework and slept. But this weekend has been a bit more eventful......
On friday night we went to a place called Dr. Slaughters, it just happens to be the largest haunted house in the United States! I was soo terrified and I had debated on not going but I felt that I couldn't stay at home on a friday night so I decided to go with my roommates and some friends. Before we went to the haunted house we stopped at buffalo wild wings for some dinner although I had already eaten I had a good time talking to some friends. We then moved on to the haunted house, by this time I was already tensing up and worrying about how scared I was going to be, luckily I had a friend to hold onto during the haunted house, if I hadn't of gone through with my friend I'm not sure how I would have coped! I help on to him solo tight that when we got out he said he could feel me quivering when we were inside! I felt bad because I did scream quite a lot during the haunted house, and all of the scary people knew that I was the most scared in our group so they would always gravitate towards me! They would scare me, go back to their original position (or so I thought) and then they would come follow me and scare me again!! I think my friend laughed at me quite a bit at how stupidly scared I was!
I did have to listen to church music while I showered in the evening due to the fact that there were sheets we had to pass though in the haunted house and I was not taking any chances ;)
I have also listened to church music for the past few nights not just because I was scared on friday night but I have found it to be very relaxing and helps me to sleep at night.

So on Saturday one of my roommates had been invited to go shooting with a guy from the evening before and while she was getting ready I was talking with him and we got onto the discussion of how I had never shot a gun before, so he convinced me to go.
So it was a lot of fun apart from the fact that we didn't have any earplugs so it was very loud when the guns were being shot, when I shot the pistol our friend forgot to hold my ears for me so it wouldn't be as loud for me and so I was deafened for quite a few minutes and all I could hear was ringing in my ears. Apart from the headache afterwards and the deafness I had a lot of fun and I actually hit something, not someone!! And best of all I didn't hurt myself!!

I love and miss you all at home, not long until I will be back!!! I am grateful for all the support I have!

A bit of home here in the USA

So last week my parents sent me a package of food and little things from home and I was so happy and excited for it to come, but because of the distance I thought it would take a few weeks to come.

Today I happened to go down to our managers office to pick up a package for a roommate and it happened that mine was there! I was soooooo excited when I found out it was here! I was quite shocked that it only took a week to come.

When it got to my apartment I was way to excited and one of my roommates just laughed at me and when I say laughed, I mean like almost wet herself she was laughing so hard. I had run up our corridor and bolted into the apartment hugging my package.

I literally could not control myself, just knowing that there was something from home here with me, and to know that my mum had put so much effort into making my package. So inside my package was a massive british flag, soo much chocolate, Hot chocolate mix, sweets, leather gloves, my mums scarf, squash (for you americans it is similar to kool aid but its fruity and has no added sugars), and milky way chocolate spread, pasta, pasta sauces, along with other little items. I still am on such a high from receiving this amazing package from my amazing family!

I love you all and miss you all back home so much. But I am having such an amazing time here!

Life at BYU-Idaho

So I am still not coping well with the freshen lifestyle but I am attempting to be showered and in bed by 11pm so that I can try and get enough sleep when I have 7:45 classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which is my psychology class.

I am also feeling quite overwhelmed with all the homework I get, I always get math homework and then usually I have psychology work that is due every Wednesday. It just takes so much time and I am struggling with procrastination, especially when my roommates have guys over most evenings and it makes me want to socialize rather than do work, I am getting better at doing work when it is given to me, then I can get it done and out of the way so I can socialize afterwards.

I have created only a few friends outside my apartment but its all good because they are good friends, my closest friend outside of the apartment is Jasmine, I met her on the first day of class in my psychology class, we also have American Foundations together so we can sit and chat until that class begins. It nice to meet someone to has the same sense of humor and we get along crazy well, the moment we started talking we just clicked which is great! I've met quite a few guys but they are only through them going on dates with my roommates and then coming back to the apartment to meet us all, so it is just frustrating that I haven't met too many of my own friends but I'm sure it will happen, it has only been a few weeks so I have time to make new friends.

One thing that helps me get through the days here is that I am able to text my parents everyday, it makes me feel like I'm not so far away from them, I love hearing from them but whenever we FaceTime and we say goodbye I do get a bit teary and thats the part I very much dislike! But I still love hearing their voices and what is going on back home.

Love you all and am grateful for your support in all of my decisions. I love and miss you all.

Getting used to life in the USA!

So I have been here on my own for almost a week and a half, I feel used to the jet lag but not the routine, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I have to be at class by 7:45AM! Which means that I have to wake up at 6am! It is so hard to get used to, especially when there are people over the apartment until late, I don't want to miss anything so I don't want to go to sleep and miss out on fun stuff! 

We have made many good friends since being here and I am grateful for the friends that I have, especially the guys who are worthy to hold the priesthood and to be able to exercise their priesthood when called upon, I am grateful for the guys that were able to give me my back to school besting, not only did they help me with comfort but also to be able to increase the level of friendship that comes from this experience. I hope to create more friendships that will last a life time from this school. I love that I can be walking back from campus and if there is anyone walking in the same direction as you and you can just start talking to them and have a nice conversation without knowing them!

One thing I have noticed her is that it always feels really late when it is still early! I feel like I'm getting really old and cannot handle these late nights and early mornings! I feel like I need a nap everyday to be able to handle the freshman lifestyle but I physically cannot handle it!

I love all my friends and associates here that have helped me through my first week and a half through school and cannot express my gratitude to all those who have made an impact on my life already in the past week.

Home sweet home

So this week was the week that we left England to come to Idaho. 

The journey began on Monday evening as we drove down to Heathrow to stay the night in a hotel as we had an early flight the next morning. 

On the morning of the flight, I woke up at 4am an hour before my parents so I laid in the bed for an hour whilst I waited for my parents to wake up, once we were all up and ready it was off to the airport we went. 

We went through security quite quickly and were in the duty free for what seemed to be a long time....and finally it was time to board the plane.

The flight to New York was 7 hours and the movies on the plane weren't that good so I was bored quite a bit on the flight when I was struggling to find something to watch, I didn't even attempt to eat any plane food as I wasn't feeling good anyway and plane food is horrible!! (unless you are in business class)

We then had a few hours of a lay over in New York, we ate McDonalds and walked around the Duty Free before sitting down to people watch (its my favorite thing) it was fascinating to see the different people that were around, it seriously it is my favorite thing! And the best thing is that there is this place on campus called the crossroads where there are restaurants like Chik-fil-a and krispy kremes and there are so many people that go to study there and its the best place to people watch. 

The plane to Salt Lake City was really bumpy and we were sitting right at the back of the plane which didn't help, there was also a toddler and a younger girl in the row in front and the younger girl cried most of the 5 hours! I was able to have a sleep though as I was really super tired.

When we got to the airpot we had to wait for an hour for our rental car and had to deal with the manager, it was a very stressful time and it was even worse as we were tired as well.

By the time we got to our friends house which was half an hour away from the airport in the Highlands, it was about 9:30 and we stayed up talking about England and our friends son who we met as a missionary in our ward, (that is our connection with them and how we came to be in contact with them) we stayed up until about midnight, and due to jet lag I woke up at around 5am. 

The next day we had to run errands such as going to ikea, we had to wait for the store to open so Mum got some breakfast whilst we were there and then spent an hour or so in the store getting my dorm things, we also had to go a pick up my MacBook pro, it was so amazing to walk out with it and knowing that it is mine :') Later that evening we went to Bountiful to meet one of Dad's old missionary companion he hasn't seem since they were together on their missions in Canada. 

On Thursday morning we left about 9:30-10am to leave to go to BYUI, we stopped off at Farmington to pick up my laptop case (michael kors case) after then driving for half an hour or so we realized that we left my passport back at our friends which was an hour and a half drive back, then we stopped for lunch at a cute bakery place called Kneaders. After which we began our 3 hour journey for the second time. The drive was quite boring once out of Salt Lake, after napping and waking up it was another hour until we arrived in Rexburg. 

Once we had arrived at BYUI we then moved into my apartment about 6pm in The Willows, it took us about an hour to move in and get everything in its own little place, my roommate had been there since 12 and was still unpacked until the next day, all my roommates were amazed that I had moved in so quickly. From the moment I met my roommates we have all gotten along well so good and they are super sweet and beautiful! 

So when my parents came round on Saturday morning and gave me some photo frames with pictures of me and my family and me and my best friend, she also gave me some cards from each of them, when I read them later on I did get a bit teary. I disliked saying goodbye to my parents very much! They might not have seen but I did cry a bit after I had walked away to go to Church, I found it difficult to say anything when saying goodbye without crying, I'm not sure if they cried either. 

I have met so many amazing people here at BYUI and I cannot wait to meet more amazing people here, if you are considering BYUI as a college/university then I would highly recommend it and I've only been here for 2 days. 

Time is running out in England

So I leave my beautiful England and my friends and family in just a few days!
It's crazy to think how fast the time has gone since being accepted to BYU-I in January! I remember the moment I opened the email and saw that I had been accepted into BYU Idaho, it was an amazing feeling! To know that my family were proud of me and that I was proud of myself was a bit surreal.
Slowly but surely it has been becoming more and more real. I still feel like its not actually happening! I can not believe that I am actually leaving everyone and starting this amazing adventure. I know that when the time comes to say goodbye that it will be a very emotional moment, the one thing that helps me in these situations is the knowledge that I am not leaving forever and that I will be able to contact my friends and family daily.
I am very excited for this amazing opportunity that I have, and I am ready to seize this opportunity and to be able to create so many memories with new friends. I feel as though I have some friends in my roommates through being able to be on contact with two girls for a few months, the thought of meeting them in less than one week makes me more excited to be there!
But I am not ready to say goodbye to my family and friends at all! The thing that will make it more bearable is that I will be in constant communication with them all the time.
It's crazy to think that the next time I might post could be in the USA! I can not wait for all the amazing experiences I am going to be able to have!
Thank you for all your support, I love you all :)

Preparing for BYUI

So in three weeks I will be leaving my beloved United Kingdom and attending University (college as Americans call it) in Idaho. I will be attending BYU-Idaho, it is a majority Latter Day Saint University which is one of the reasons I chose BYU in the first place.

I am looking forward to this new adventure in my life but I am also worried about being so far away from my family and friends. I am worried that I am going to be home sick /: but luckily I have been able to get to know some lovely girls who I will be rooming with during this fall semester which I know will make the transition much better.

At the moment I am getting myself ready to leave for BYUI which means going through all my clothes and deciding what to take with me for the semester which includes basically all my clothing! The only problem with flying to university is that there is a limit with my baggage allowance which means we have to ship some of my clothes, way too much hassle!