I'm home! One year of college down. I know lots of my friends will be home for the summer within the next few weeks. So here's my list of things to do instead of sitting around, being bored.

• Read. What's that, you don't like reading? You're doing it wrong. Find a book that looks interesting. I promise you'll get into it if you just find the right book.

• Play with your siblings. I have missed my sisters a lot, and Scattergories and Jungle Speed have already been played in excess.
• Find new music. I didn't have time at school to find NEW music. Now, I do:)
• Keep up with the news. Whether it be on this blog or from a news source. You need to know what's up in the world. You're an adult now.
• See some old friends. Yes, it's weird. We all have these new lives. But we can still go to lunch or have a bonfire or something.
• Find a show. I'm on Boy Meets World right now! I watch ONE episode a day. Not too much, but not nothing.

• Write. Journal, blog, whatever. Remember this time. It's crucial.
• Visit your teachers. I plan on making a few trips to dear ol' Davis in the near future and thanking all the people who made my freshman year that much easier.
• Get a job. Don't sit around the house. Make some money!
• Help your mom. She could use help with the laundry and dishes, and I'm sure you're capable of doing it.
• Organize your documents/photos. After a year of college you probably have a million documents and photos sitting around. Organize them.
• Write a missionary! I have a few favorites that I can recommend;)
• Make dinner. Give your parents the night off and whip out all those cooking skills you gained from college.
• Enjoy yourself. You have 3 months of you time. Go walking, hiking, whatever makes YOU happy. 

New York Times Headline: Colleges Adapt Online Courses to Ease Burden

Colleges are working online to make sure students are more prepared for college, as well as make sure they graduate on time. With state budgets being cut, more students are unable to get higher education. These massive online classes are being tested to help fix the higher education problems.

Click here to read the full story.

New York Times Headline: Flow of Tainted Water Is Latest Crisis at Japan Nuclear Plant

Workers in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear district in Japan are struggling to contain radioactive wastewater. Water is pouring into the plants reactor building at an alarmingly fast rate, which contaminates the water. Workers are doing all they can to contain it.

Click here for the full story.

Finally posting about my Saint George trip! I know you've all been waiting;) But really, I have some great ideas for you if you're ever in the Saint George/Dixie area. We had a blast and wish we could go back!

Here's a few of the fun things we did:

• Ate at Paradise Cafe, their cookies are to DIE for.
• Laid out by the pool at our hotel, reading and talking about everything under the sun. I powered through a really good book called The Secret Keeper. Highly recommend it:)
• At at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe. Really good smoothies!
• Cruised around Saint George, pretending to speak other languages in drive-thrus and parking lot dancing.
• Went to Dixie Rock (beautiful view of the city) and sang hymns at the top when nobody else was there. It was a really spiritual, wonderful moment.
• Worked out (not my idea, I don't work out on vacation but some people are more fit than I am) and then jumped in the pool after. SO fun.
• Hiked in Snow Canyon. Just a few minutes away from downtown Saint George and one of the most beautiful canyons I've ever seen. The red rock was incredible, and hiking up to the top of cooled lava and petrified sand dunes was so amazing. 
• Ate some In n' Out. I don't care if you hate fast food, I promise a trip to In n' Out every once in a while is worth your calories.
• Also ate some Nielsen's Frozen Custard. Try it. I promise you'll love it. 
• Realized that cute Wendie Davis (Gabe's mom) was staying at our same hotel! She was so fun to chat with and we had a great time talking with her.
• Took a million pictures (who doesn't like to remember their vacation!)
• Had a great time with my four best friends (I also recommend this one;))

New York Times Headline: Push to Require Online Sales Tax Divides the G.O.P.

There is lots of debate going on about what is a tax increase and what isn't. Mixed with this debate is the issue of whether Internet sales tax is a tax increase for Americans. The most heavily involved group that is pro-Internet sales tax is small businesses who believe their Internet competitors have an unfair advantage.

Click here for the full story.

New York Times: With Bags of Cash, C.I.A. Seeks Influence in Afghanistan

According to Afghan leadership, millions of dollars have secretly flowed from the CIA to the hands of presidents and other leaders in Afghanistan. Apparently, this money was spent to gain the influence of the Afghan leaders and sway their decisions regarding terrorism and America. The CIA declined comment.

Click here for the full story.

I said goodbye to my friends today (for real) and now I'm officially home.


It's nice to be home!

And I miss BYU.

It's an interesting mix of feelings. Right now I don't have a minute to blog about my trip or all of the other things I want to blog about. So forgive me! But starting tomorrow, trust me. There will be lots of blog posts since all I'm doing this summer is working, reading, spending time with my family, and you've got it...blogging.


On the spiritual note, Dillon gave a fabulous farewell talk today about the restoration and how important that is to the people we are today. He talked about things we can learn from the restoration and apply to our lives. He's going to be an amazing missionary folks. Those people in Texas are lucky to get one of my best friends for two years. I love you Dil!



Happy Sunday everyone!

New York Times Headline: Europe Facing More Pressure to Reconsider Cuts as a Cure

Hey Saint George. After 9 months of nearly straight school, you're looking mighty nice. And it's even better that I get to be here with my best friends.

Coming up on the agenda of my life; vacation in Saint George, go home and be with my family, say bye to everyone for real on Sunday at Dillon's farewell, then a summer full of working, my family, and lots of reading.

Welcome to life after college.