Awesome week!!

Well, I must say I had a excellent week filled with nights out to dinner, getting addicted to "Heroes," going to Salt Lake, and receiving good mail!



*note: I started this post on Sunday, but due to a crazy, whirlwind week, I haven't gotten back to it until now.

So, quick recap of my stellar week last week: On Wednesday my visiting teaching partner, Jamie, and I took one of our girls (Katelyn, who also happens to be a really good friend) out to Legends Grill for dinner and it was a needed break from school work. I had an excellent salmon filet complete with corn and potatoes--it was the closest thing I've had to real food in a long time (with the exception of Sunday dinners with Jessie and Timm).

Friday and Saturday nights I got to go up to Salt Lake to see Temple Square and both times it was so much fun! I love Temple Square any time, but especially at Christmas time (is that one word "Christmastime" or two?) My ward went on Friday and we saw the Joseph Smith movie, which was truly amazing! It was another experience that made the story come truly alive for me--it renewed itself and didn't seem like the standard Church story you hear all the time. At the end after the credits, everyone was sniffling and wiping eyes! I want to see it again before it leaves Salt Lake and it's also one of those movies you want your non-member friends to see because it explains the story and it's easy to see why it's such an important story for us, why we so greatly revere Joseph Smith.

Brooke (Katelyn's roommate), Katelyn, and me

We didn't get to spend too much time actually in Temple Square though, so Katelyn and I decided to go back Saturday night and operate on our own schedule. We borrowed Jessie and Timm's car and drove up to Salt Lake after a delicious dinner at the Olive Garden. The wait was about half an hour, so we went across the street to the ShopKo because I needed some cash and I ended up getting a little bit of errand shopping done, as well as having fun trying on shoes and browsing the toy aisles!

Once at Temple Square (we parked in this really creepy parking garage where the only way to get out was to go down this really creepy rapist stairwell--ah!), we strolled around looking at all the pretty lights and taking countless pictures. We went inside the South Visitors Center, which was pretty interesting and then headed over to the North Visitors Center to see the Christus, but it closed early because there apparantly was a bomb threat or something. Scary! I was really disappointed though that we couldn't see the Christus--I was really looking forward to that and Katelyn hasn't seen it yet. Oh well, that just gives us another excuse to go up again! We went up to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and looked out over Temple Square at all the lights and the temple--it is so pretty there! The Joseph Smith Memorial Building itself is a beautiful structure; the high ceilings, intricate woodwork, and fancy chandeliers make it feel like a palace of sorts!



Once we got back to Provo, we checked our mail and lo and behold I had a package from Jill!! I was so excited and had to open it right away. She sent me a darling "peace" embellishment, two Christmas mixes, and my very own "Good Mail from Charlotte" stickers!! Thank you so much! I saw it was sent on the 6th and due to the retarded dorm mail system, I was surprised it made it to me by the 9th. A well deserved thank you note is on its way!


Well, I must sign off and go to class now. This week is full of studying, tests, studying, writing, studying, and did I mention studying? I probably won't post until I go home a week from tomorrow!!!! (yeah, with a flight at 7:15 a.m. . . . yeah) Good luck all with Christmas shopping and plans and remember that this time of year is supposed to be fun so take some time out here and there to enjoy December!!