Here it goes.

Once upon a time, Randy and I were 14 years old. We went to a party at Morgan Coles with a bunch of our Junior High friends. I remember Randy being there, but I don’t remember being introduced or anything. I think I knew of him, but hadn’t ever been introduced. I felt like I’d always know him. I remember Randy was telling a really funny story about his grandpa, and everyone was laughing. He has always been outgoing and funny and I just love that about him!

I remember meeting Maddy for the first time at Morgan’s party and instantly being attracted to her. I asked around to find out more about her. I wanted to impress her, but I didn’t want to freak her out. After asking around, I found out that Maddy was “going out” with another guy from our school and I was so disappointed. I started thinking that she was out of my league anyway, but pretty soon she started showing interest in me too! I was so excited!

Randy and I were friends after that, and I had no idea he had a crush on me. Like at all. Of course I was kind of dumb. I was “going out” (remember we were in junior high, so “going out” meant I talked to a boy at my locker and passed him notes for two weeks before we tragically “broke up”) with boys, and Randy was my good friend. Don’t get me wrong, every girl had a crush on Randy, including me, at some points during Junior High and High School, but Randy never showed interest at all! I always just thought Randy wasn’t going to admit to liking a girl during high school, and that was that. Nobody had a chance. Especially not me.

Fast forward to sophomore year of high school. Randy and I were still good friends, we had theater together which I really liked, and I asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. I was kind of dating a boy from a different school, and Randy was my good friend and I knew he would be a fun date to the dance. We had fun that night at the dance, and as I walked him up to his driveway he gave me a one-armed, side hug. I walked back to my car thinking, he didn’t have any fun at all did he!? But apparently he did.

Sadie Hawkins Dance!

When Maddy asked me to the Sadie Hawkins Dance, I was terrified. To make things worse, she was already dating another guy. She was dating him pretty seriously and at this point in time. She was my friend -one of my best friends, and I loved having her as such a great friend. I didn’t want to ruin anything so I tried to play it cool. We had a really awesome night! It was my first high school dance and I had so much fun. However, something felt off. The entire time, I felt like she would rather be with her boyfriend than me. Again, I didn’t want to ruin anything so I kept my distance, but I still had an awesome night.

Fast forward to March of our junior year. We’d just had an amazing year in Musical Productions and other classes together, and Randy was one of my very good friends. I had been dating guys off and on, and Randy was always there, being a great friend. One day a bunch of us went to Yogo Togo in Kaysville after school. A few of the boys had been stealing my car keys and driving my car around, thinking they were funny. I did NOT think they were funny. So when one of them stole my keys and ran out to my car, I wasn’t happy. I nudged the guy I was somewhat dating and asked him if he could go get my keys back from the boys. He shrugged, and said they were probably fine. I looked up just in time to see Randy jogging out the door, and standing behind my car so those boys couldn’t leave the parking lot. He then brought my keys back inside. I was SO impressed. Later that day I sent him a message on Facebook – thanking him for being such an amazing friend, for knowing when teasing was crossing a line, and for always looking out for me. I remember debating whether or not to write it, but wanted him to know how grateful I was.

The day that I went to Yogo Togo to meet up with Maddy was a rough one. Maddy and I were such great friends at that time. She always has had this ability to bring a smile to my face. On that day, I was having a really hard day. I was probably being a dramatic teenager, but I wasn’t in the best mood. After school, Maddy asked me if I would come hang out with her and a couple friends at Yogo Togo. At the time, I was sure that she wasn’t dating anyone. I knew that she had been off and on dating guys, but I was pretty positive that she was available at the time. It didn’t take a lot of convincing to get me to meet up with her there.

I went with a couple of my guy friends and we walked into Yogo Togo and Maddy was cuddling up with one of the guys she had dated previously. From the looks of it, she wasn’t as available as I thought. My heart sank and I felt like I was going to cry right there. I was having a bad enough day, and I thought that Maddy was inviting me because she was interested in me. I felt stupid for thinking that she would ever be interested in me. I quietly sat in the circle of our friends and didn’t really say much. 

During this time, my guy friends thought it was funny to steal Maddy’s keys and drive it. They were really good guys and I knew that they wouldn’t hurt her car our do anything serious, but a car is an expensive thing to be messing with. The guys snatched Maddy’s keys and took off outside. She told them to stop, but they wanted to mess with her. She turned to her boyfriend and asked if he would stop them and he didn’t! I could tell it was bothering her so I got up and chased after them. They had just gotten into the car and were planning on driving it. I ran and got behind so they couldn’t go anywhere and convinced them to give me the keys.

I was mostly annoyed. I didn’t want anyone to think that though. In fact, I was doing a very good job of concealing that. I didn’t show any frustration or anger to anyone. Then I took the keys back to Maddy and she said thanks. That made me want to scream. The thing I wanted more than anything was to be the guy that got to take care of her. I wanted to be the guy that she turned to for help and the guy she was turning to wasn’t doing anything! So I left. After I gave Maddy the keys I left Yogo Togo and went home and felt bad for myself. After all, I was an emotional teenager. I sat at home and told myself that I was going to stop wasting my time chasing after Maddy Richards. She didn’t even see me! I didn’t even know why she invited me to Yogo Togo in the first place. 

I know I was dramatic, but this was a serious thing for me. I wanted to date her SO bad. After I had felt bad for myself for a couple of hours, I got onto Facebook to kill time and I saw that Maddy had messaged me. This is what the message said:

Randy–just so you know i love you quite a lot. thanks for being such a gentleman today! and every day….i know the other guys are just kidding and its fun, but i’m happy to know that randy will always be nice:) so thanks!



Pretty normal message, right? Well……it killed me. I started crying. I didn’t know what to do with myself. She was always with some other guy, but she did see me. I was something special to her. That night, I convinced myself that I was going to date her. I was going to go for her until she told me that she wasn’t interested or until she was married to some other guy (keep in mind that we were like 17 years old)


Fast forward again to just a few weeks later. It was summer, and it was a great summer. Randy and I started hanging out more and more, made some runs to get Frosty’s at Wendy’s and talk about the next year of Musical Productions, summer, and everything else. I had just said goodbye to another guy who was off on a mission, (I know, I know. I was horrible) and was kind of not super interested in that guy. I wanted to go on dates and have fun that summer. And Randy was my great friend who was super fun to spend time with. I was starting to bug him about who he liked. I had asked him off and on during our friendship, and his answer was always the same…no one. I didn’t buy it. So I kept asking. I was bugging him about who he liked alllll the time. I was starting to like him, and I wanted to know if the feeling was mutual! So he started giving me hints. I narrowed it down, and finally announced who I thought it was. I didn’t know, but he thought I would narrow it down to only myself. And I didn’t. So he assumed I didn’t want it to be me, and that he shouldn’t tell me it was me. So, he agreed that it was this other girl. And I was sad, but I had to get over it

I continued to hang out with Maddy every once in a while. She was very interested in finding out who I liked. I was afraid she would find out that it was her that I liked. I didn’t want her to think I was creepy and I certainly didn’t want to ruin our awesome friendship so I generally avoided the subject. 

One day, she asked me if the girl was in one of the classes that Maddy and I were taking together. I honestly answered yes. Then she asked if the girl was dating someone at the time. I said yes (because Maddy had just sent off another missionary and I assumed that classified him as her boyfriend). That only left two girls in the class that weren’t her. I realized that she didn’t consider herself in this group and assumed that she didn’t even think about us being together. I was in a tight spot and kinda tried to change the subject, but Maddy and decided that she knew who I liked and it wasn’t me.  

The rest of June and July passed with Randy and I hanging out a lot, him stopping by to visit me at work, me teasing him about wanting to be with this other girl, and me sort of dating another boy (yet again, so sorry Randy). On the 4th of July, Randy’s best friend called and asked me to go to the fireworks, as Randy’s date. I was so confused! Why hadn’t Randy just called me? He probably didn’t even want me to go. Randy got on the phone and we talked for a second, I was teasing him and telling him he didn’t have to take me on the date, that he could take that other girl that he liked, etc. Randy just insisted that he wanted to go with me, and they’d be there to pick me up later that night. We went to the fireworks and had an amazing time. For a split second during the show, I thought he was going to hold my hand. But he didn’t. We had an amazing time, but the whole night in the back of my mind I was wondering about this other girl.
The Fourth of July date was SOO FUN! I wasn’t planning on going on the date because I thought it was too soon to ask Maddy, but my best friend took over and called her for me. I had to summon the courage to ask her and then things kinda fell in to place.

Late July all the boys started talking about homecoming, and who they were going to ask. I told Randy that the girl that he’d told me he had a crush on had just broken up with her boyfriend, and he should ask her to the dance. “Maybe I will” he said. My heart sank. Randy and I went on trips to Orange Leaf and he came to Cherry Hill to visit lots, and our friendship got even stronger.

Then one July day, I was supposed to go to the movies with a boy. He had been blowing me off a lot, and on my way to the theater he called to tell me he wasn’t coming. I was disappointed and somehow the conversation evolved into us deciding not to see each other any more. I was so sad and wasn’t sure what to do. So of course, I called Randy. I was crying on the phone and was quite frankly a hot mess. But he told me to come over to Spencer’s and hit tennis balls with them, so I did. I cried to Randy for a little bit, and he was so comforting and just an awesome friend. I started realizing that day that I really liked him, but I was sure that he liked this other girl.

At this point, I was ready to be with Maddy. I had been waiting for a chance for so long and I finally had it. However, I had to be considerate and make sure that she was ok. She had just gone through a huge break-up so I just played it cool and made sure that she knew I was there for her. 

Just a few days later, Randy and I were at Orange Leaf and I was bugging him about the girl he liked. He told me he didn’t like her, and I was shocked! I said, “Well whoever you ask to homecoming, that’s the girl you like.” His response was “I don’t know….” and I kept bugging and bugging until he agreed he would ask the girl he had a crush on to homecoming. Later out of the blue, I got a text from Randy’s best friend. Spencer asked if I would ever want to go to homecoming with Randy. I knew I liked Randy and I thought that maybe, just maybe, I had a chance. So I told him, “Yes, I would die to go to homecoming with Randy.” That text changed everything.

Us right after we started dating

After a couple of days, Spencer texted me to ask me who I was going to take to Homecoming. I was still going to play it cool to make sure that I wasn’t too forward so I told him that I didn’t know who I was going to ask. Then he told me I should ask Maddy. I was shocked. I guess he knew all along. I told him that I wasn’t going to because I didn’t think she wanted to go with me. Then he forwarded a text to me from her. I still remember screaming in my pillow with excitement. I was on top of everything and now I just had to show her that I was worth it.

Another few days after that Spencer made a Facebook status that said “However many likes this gets, that’s how many girls Randy Low will kiss.” Randy was NOT happy. He was actually freaking out, a lot. Well, 118 likes later, they created a Facebook event for Randy to kiss 118 girls on a True Dart night. Randy was NOT having it. He would talk to me and be SO mad and worried about the whole thing.
 My best friend did this whole true dart thing and I had made the choice to avoid it. I was NOT going to go. Especially since I wanted to be with Maddy.

Well August 13th came. I was working and had decided after I got off that I would go to the True Dart night and see how it all went down. Randy came and saw me at work, and I asked him if he was going. He said NO WAY. And I said, oh bummer, I was planning on going. Well Randy changed his tune pretty quickly. We drove over to Davis and I was shaking. There were tons of people there for True Darting and I was sure that Randy was going to bail. But he didn’t. He walked right next to me, and we snuck up to the D. Randy walked through it and turned around. I distinctly remember everything about that moment. I looked up and saw Randy, he said “You ready?” and then he kissed me so fast that I almost missed it. He pulled me through the D and that was that. The beginning of the rest of our life. Randy only kissed one girl that night, and I was lucky enough to be her.

First picture of us together when we were actually dating

Randy and I held hands later that night, I guessed that he liked me during a guessing game a few days later (I was bugging him about who he liked and he told me to guess, I said I was scared to, then he said “if you’re scared to guess, you know who it is.”) He asked me to homecoming a few days after that, and then told me he loved me in a text a week into our senior year of high school.

Homecoming

This love story with Randy is my favorite thing in the whole world. It was a long and winding road to get there, but I have never regretted a single moment. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thanks for being my crush, my high school sweetheart, my missionary, my boyfriend, my fiance, and now my husband. I love you Randy Low!

The days and weeks are just flying by! How is it we are in OCTOBER already?? Boy I can’t even believe it, but I LOVE fall so I’m pretty excited about this time of year!

Let’s do a little update, shall we?

Last weekend was study weekend! Randy and I pulled our mattress out to the living room, ate Cup O’ Noodles, binged on our favorite TV shows, and Randy spent the weekend studying while I read, cleaned, and relaxed. It was a pretty great weekend to say the least! We also got to see Caleb which is always a wonderful treat! I also may have broken out all things pumpkin with some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, which were delightful if I do say so myself!

I realized I had better update on last weekend before this weekend rolls around! Our Friday and Saturday were mostly relaxed, we watched WAYYYY to much Dance Moms (Randy is now OBSESSED) and did some shopping, spent a chunk of our afternoon at Barnes and Noble with a bunch of local authors who were signing books (I now I have a much larger Christmas list) and then….

BRAD PAISLEY.

My sisters got me an AMAZING birthday gift, some tickets to see Justin Moore and Brad Paisley. So Randy and I got in our flannel and boots (Randy wasn’t sure about this part..) and headed up to USANA for the big night!

In a word, it was absolutely AMAZING.

Mickey Guyton opened and she was really fun and had a beautiful voice.

Then. Justin Moore. And wow. He was AWESOME. Bait A Hook, Point at You, Til My Last Day. He just killed it. He was yelling at us for not having enough energy, and told us if we promised to give him 110% of our energy, that he would give us 110% of his energy right back! Well, we did, and he sure did.

And then…the main event.

Brad. Paisley.

Can I just say, he was such a fun concert. There was every single song that I wanted to hear, Cosmo and the Ute mascot made an appearance and even hugged it out, funny videos (Brad Paisley as a bobble head celebrity), serious videos (Perfect Storm had this incredible light show that almost made me cry…) a Mario Kart race, a *fake* FaceTime visit from Carrie Underwood, and Whiskey Lullaby with Mickey Guyton that made me DIE. All in all, it was the most outstanding concert and Randy even had fun (he’s not much of a country fan so I was a little worried.)

So thanks to my amazing, incredible sisters for an amazing pair of tickets, and to my cute husband for an amazing night.

Do you ever have one of those weeks that just seem to have rough edges?

That was last week for me.

So many issues at work that left me frustrated and exhausted, spilling into evenings of being mad at myself because my house wasn’t clean enough and dinner wasn’t done on time and a million other things.

And then, this.

This beautiful, end to end, bright, almost double rainbow. I wanted to drive to the end of it, to stand in the rainbow and enjoy, to soak in all that color and life.

But the point is this; rainbows come. There is a scientific reason there is rain and a scientific reason there is a rainbow.

Similarly the hard, rough edges come. And so does the smooth sailing. All for a reason.

It’s a lesson that we’ve heard a million and one times, and it’s one that’s sometimes hard to remember. But it’s important and vital for our growth.

I am so incredibly grateful for a God in Heaven who loves me enough to send the rain and the rainbows, the rough edges and the smooth sailing. Because he knows exactly what I need, and when I need it.

And if you ask me, that’s pretty something.

Still to come this week: the weekend in review (AKA BRAD PAISLEY), wedding part 3, the love story (I promise it’s almost done, Randy is just adding his words still!), the apartment decorations (I know, five months later. So sue me.) and more!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Our luncheon was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and it was a blast! We ate salad, AMAZING Lion House rolls, chicken and rice and veggies, sparkling grape juice, and cheesecake to top it all off. Everything was so wonderful. I had written the order of things on a little card for Randy and I LOVED that Elisha snapped a picture of it.

My sisters read the cutest story about Randy and I that my mom had written. It talked about all the reasons that Randy and I were perfect for each other, and talked about our mutual love for Disney to our music and dancing time together. My mom spent the time to find out about Randy’s childhood and compare it with mine to craft a beautiful piece, and I’m so grateful for it.

My sisters then sang a song, “When I Fall In Love.” I sang this song at my Aunt Jill’s wedding, and then we sang it at my brother’s…it’s becoming quite a tradition in our family which is really fun. They sang beautifully and my mom played perfectly. It was wonderful.

We showed our Love Story video that Aubree and Matt had done and it was SO perfect. Randy and I love sharing our story so it was so fun to show it to all our friends and family.

The bridesmaids gave me a gift where they all picked an item and explained how it related to Randy and my relationship, and my friendship with each wonderful girl. It was so awesome to reminisce with my best friends about our time together, and my love with Randy.

Caleb and Alexon wrote and performed a song about our love. It was so so so SO amazing. Caleb had asked each of us for an inside joke or a piece of our story that we wanted to be in the song, and he and Alexon incorporated them both into a beautiful song that told about our story. I almost started crying as these high school best friends of ours sent us off to our marriage.

Spencer then gave a toast and it was so perfect. He talked about the temple and how important it was, and about how it was a good thing that I can cook;) I loved hearing Randy’s childhood best friend talk about how great we were together.

Both of our dads said a few words which was wonderful. My daddy is amazing. I’m so lucky!

It was an absolutely amazing luncheon, we were surrounded by our friends and loved ones and it was incredible to feel all that love and support from the people closest to us. It was the perfect way to start our marriage. And Elisha captured it perfectly, of course.

It’s finally here! I am FINALLY getting around to posting some wedding pictures/the wedding story/the wedding video! Huzzah!

Maddy and I had been working on putting out apartment together. We were moving things from Provo to Midvale and we decided to exchange our wedding gifts and leave them in the apartment. We also wrote each other little notes and they were kinda like vows. I read Maddy’s and it was very real that were actually getting married. It was a really special moment.

The night before our wedding Randy and I exchanged gifts, which was really special. There was a moment when Randy just broke down, and I quickly was trying to figure out what was wrong. All he could say was “We did it. We made it.” After all the hoping and planning and waiting and wishing, we were actually here. And it was perfect.

I also got my parents gifts – some amazing handkerchiefs with personalized messages on them. I got them on Etsy as a very personal keepsake for my parents to remember that day! I also got all of my bridesmaids some pearls, and thank you notes.

So the morning of the wedding, I woke up at about 4 AM. Partially to get ready, partially because I couldn’t sleep another second! I started to curl my hair which was a process, and at about 6 my makeup lady came. It was so fun to chat – she had recently gotten engaged and it was great to be excited for each other.

I packed my bag and made sure my suitcases were all ready, and then headed upstairs, where Randy was waiting! Let me tell you, that was a crazy moment. The last time we would be in my house NOT as husband and wife. I whipped up some breakfast quick, and my sisters came out to eat Oatmeal Cream Pies (like Moon Pies if you’ve read “Sister of the Bride” by Beverly Cleary. It’s a book I gave to both of my sisters as a gift and it’s excellent!) with me before we left. Then, it was off to the temple. Randy and I drove together for some of the few moments we would have alone together that day. We jammed to Taylor Swift, and it was one of the best memories of my life.

On our walk into the temple we just chatted like it was a normal day, which was strange. I kept looking at Randy and thinking “Wow, we made it. We did it.”
We got to the temple and got all ready, and our sealing was absolutely beautiful. We had some time in the Celestial Room before we were married, and that was incredibly special. I don’t know if I can even explain how perfect it was.

As we walked through the temple, I just thought about how different life was going to be after that day. Waiting to actually be married was the worst! Patience was slim and I was so excited to be married. Our sealer was really solid and we had an amazing ceremony. And just like that, we were husband in wife. That’s a really overwhelming feeling. I was so happy. There really isn’t another way of putting it.

After we were married we walked outside the temple to cheers and congratulations from our friends and family. That’s a once in a lifetime experience for sure. We then wandered around the temple, taking pictures and soaking in the fact that we were married! It was so surreal to me to finally, actually be the bride. To be the one in the white dress with the bouquet and the cheesy grin on my face. I wouldn’t trade that day for anything.

Stay tuned for part 2, the luncheon!

https://player.vimeo.com/video/138697270
Maddy and Randy’s Temple Video from Aubree Jones on Vimeo.

Friends! I am 22! What in the world is life?! I swear it was just two minutes ago that I was a little kid playing house with my sisters. Crazy world that we live in.

So Randy and I had a stellar Labor Day weekend that kicked off the birthday shenanigans for us.

Friday we went to Guitar Center and Randy was in HEAVEN. Like a little kid in a candy store. We were seriously running from room to room so Randy could show me guitars and drums and keyboards. Randy is amazing at every single instrument he touches, it kills me. I love watching him in his happy place like that.

Saturday was a FULL day. Randy and I got up and headed right off to the Outlets for a day of shopping. We shopped and shopped and shopped, then went to Thanksgiving Point to stroll around (where we bumped into Randy’s old Japanese professor. Small world!)

We then went off to Puppy Barn and had a blast playing with the cutest puppies EVER.

Then we hit up BYU Campus and spent some time reminiscing and wandering the bookstore – just in time to hear BYU WIN THAT AMAZING GAME WITH AN INCREDIBLE HAIL MARY. What an awesome win – go Cougs!

We then picked up beautiful Lauren and went to get dinner – pho of course! It was awesome to hang out and chat with Lau – especially while eating my favorite food in the world haha.

We then went off to a wedding reception of one of my friends from Freshman year – and bumped into everyone else from my freshman year in the process! It was so cool to see all these wonderful friends and how much we have all changed in the past 2 years.

Then it was BIRTHDAY TIME – we went to The Chocolate (which is my FAVE place in Provo. Try it.) We talked and laughed and ate Cazookies and it was so wonderful to be surrounded by friends. We then went up to Rachel and Lauren’s apartment that they so graciously offered to let us use, and the partying and talking and games continued late into the night. I felt so incredibly loved and it was wonderful to see all my great friends.

Sunday was another full day – we got up bright and early to go pick up my mom from the airport! My mom was in Boston all of last week while sweet baby Candace was born. So let’s sidebar for that story real quick.

Baby Story

Kim was on bed-rest after some complications started to make doctors nervous about when the baby would come. They were monitoring her very regularly to know exactly when she needed to be born. My brother had lots of law internship interviews in California last week – and he and Kim decided he should still go to those. So my mom went to Boston to be with Kim while she was on bed-rest. Well, Tuesday night it was decided that the baby needed to come! SO my brother dashed home on the first flight, and arrived just a few hours before baby Candace was born on Wednesday morning. Everyone is home and doing well, and I am just smitten with my first niece. Can’t wait to meet her in real life!

End baby story.

So back to the story. Sunday we had an amazing birthday dinner and got to hang out with family, eat cake, and enjoy. It was a really wonderful birthday celebration.

On Monday Randy and I headed up to Park City to the Olympic Park for a day of zip-lining, sliding, free falling, climbing, and general adventuring. I LOVE Park City, the drive is spectacular, there’s so much to do and see and it’s simply beautiful. Randy and I had way too much fun doing daredevil things and it’s now got us a little hooked.

NOW for my actual birthday.

Randy woke up super early and made me breakfast in bed which was so sweet. I got calls from my family, headed into work where my desk was DECKED OUT and lots of treats were waiting. I got a little work done, headed to lunch with my office friends at Squatters (SO GOOD!) and then got to leave early! Randy had to go to class so I dropped him off and headed to Kaysville to say hi to my mom and sister for a few minutes. Then, back to get Randy and off to an amazing dinner at Eva. I LOVE THAT PLACE. If you haven’t been – go NOW. Get the Oink Oink Oink, the chocolate truffle dessert (it’s so rich it kills me) and the rosemary fries. AHH so good!

Randy got me a beautiful wedding band to go with my engagement ring, something we couldn’t afford right when we got married and he hit it out of the park, and the movie Age of Adaline which I had been DYING to get. I was so surprised I just squealed and Randy was laughing at me so much!

Birthdays are strange. I love reflecting on the past year of my life on my birthday. It is so crazy to look at all that changed in my 21st year. My missionary came home, we got engaged, then married, I graduated from college, landed my first job. I remember my 21st birthday so vividly. I was missing Randy so much, counting down the days until he would be home. I had just moved to a new apartment, school was getting tough, I was trying to balance work and classes. I drove up to Randy and I’s favorite spot in Provo and just cried, reading my scriptures, praying, and hoping that I was making good decisions. I wrote down some goals for 20-21, and some goals for my 20’s. It’s so interesting to see what things I have accomplished, and what things I still need to do. So I’m busy making goals for my 22nd year now – we’ll see how I do with those ones I guess!

And last but not least, yesterday when my beautiful sister Liv came and picked me up from work, whisked me off to dinner, and came to watch a movie with me and Randy. It was so thoughtful of her to take time out and hang out with me, and I loved it. PLUS she and Bethany got me BRAD PAISLEY tickets. So they go down in history as the best sisters in the world.

I’m feeling 22. And so incredibly blessed.

Happy Thursday everyone!

My lil’ sis is off at BYU having the time of her life in college. And as I scroll through my social media pages and see so many people off at school, it’s got me thinking. What do I wish I would’ve known going in to school, what do I wish I could’ve done differently?

So here you go!

I wish I would’ve spent more time with my girlfriends. I have amazing girls that became my best friends in college. But unfortunately, a lot of our time was spent hanging out with boys or blowing each other off for boys, and looking back I wish I would’ve made more time for those lovely ladies. Except for the guy you marry, most of those guy friends don’t stick around. The girlfriends do!

I wish I would’ve listened closer in class. There were some classes that I completely zoned out in! I was Pinning, Facebooking, etc. when I should’ve been listening. Some classes are a snore, but if I had spent more time participating and actually listening, I would’ve gotten more out of it. I miss going to class now and learning, it’s something I definitely took for granted while I was in school.

I wish I would’ve been more involved in my last ward. My first and second year, I was super involved in my ward, and it was awesome! Especially at BYU, your ward becomes your family. My last year I went in a little prejudiced and I think it hurt me. Go into each new apartment, ward, etc. with the attitude that it will be great and that you’re going to get involved.

I wish I would’ve gotten closer to more professors. I had several professors that I absolutely loved, and I wish I would’ve taken better advantage of their office hours and desire to help people personally. I would’ve gotten more from my classes, and had more professors in my corner as I moved on after college.

I wish I would’ve taken more advantage of University events. There are SO MANY amazing things you can do on campus, from sports events to art events to dance and music events, the list goes on and on. I DID NOT take full advantage of all these fun things while I was at school, and now I’m totally kicking myself. I don’t know when I’ll get to go to a college volleyball game or a production of Hamlet again. Go do all those awesome things while you can! Don’t think you’re too cool, or too busy. Make time, and get out there!

I wish I would’ve saved more money. I know, on a college budget can you even really save much? Probably not a ton, but I could’ve saved more and boy do I wish I had. Getting married and starting out in my job was EXPENSIVE, and I wish I would’ve saved a little more of that money for a rainy day.

I wish I would’ve known it’s ok to do things alone, that friends aren’t always permanent fixtures in our lives, that being sad and homesick is not only normal, but perfectly acceptable, that eating Top Ramen at 1 AM can make you feel better, that cooking for one is harder than you expect, that when you buy a bag of spinach you have to eat the WHOLE thing in about a week, that nobody will judge you for eating brownie batter for breakfast, that it’s ok to sleep in until 9:30 before your 10:00 class, that having a job doesn’t mean you have more money, that you shouldn’t take people around you for granted, especially your family, that you don’t have to apologize for the things you like and dislike, that doing the reading is really important, and that getting good grades is possible if you work hard.

I wish I would’ve appreciated my time in college more. People are so antsy to get out, to not have to go to class, and while I really love not being in college, it’s a time in your life that you never, ever get back. So enjoy it while you’re there!!!!

So to my dear sister and all the other college students out there, learn from my mistakes. And let me know what other tips you have!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Then this handsome husband of mine started classes! He’s so excited and we can already tell it’s going to be a great year. It was the first time that I hadn’t been off to school in 16 years. Let me tell you, that’s a really crazy feeling. It’s weird to see all my friends posting about their first day of school, their classes and books, and I went in to work like I have for the past five months. It’s good but hard to be done with things sometimes. I didn’t think I would miss school, but I do in some ways. Then in other ways I don’t miss it at all.

Randy and I spent Sunday night in Provo to celebrate my darling friend Lauren’s birthday. It was fun to catch up with people that I haven’t seen for a while. We have friends coming home from missions, and since we are in Salt Lake and everyone else is in Provo, it’s nice to get together and see everyone. Marriage has completely opened my eyes about friendship, and that’s a really good thing. I’ve learned there’s a really fine line between missing something, and wishing you could go back.