Dear Mindy

Dear Mindy of January 2013,

It's future Mindy again! Here to give you a little advice about your up coming year.

Let me just say, this year is awesome! Full of adventures and firsts and fun! 

Work towards those new years goals you have. Read over them and make them important.

Take heart: you get a new job! Your time at Heritage, thought fun and important, comes to an end! This new job comes very soon after the new year. Learn to love your job, love your co-workers, and love learning about everything.

Remember how you started running? You LOVE it. It's your new obsession. You love to run, love to race, and love to dream about reaching your goals. Run as much as you can. But, when your leg starts to hurt, REST. Rest it and let it heal before you really hurt it and break it and are unable to run for a few months. But that's just a suggestion.

Running does more for you than just running. It helps you realize you can reach goals and do things you never thought you could ever like. Like HIKING. You love hiking now! And you finally Hike to the very very top of Timp this year! Can you believe it?!? And can you even wait?

Go on trips and adventures. It won't be hard to convince you to take adventures to new places. Visit mom's family and get to know them better. They are fantastic people. Go to Katy's wedding. Have fun, take pictures, and remember not to stress about things you can't control. Like planes that are delayed, packing the car perfectly, or summer ending.

For some reason this year you are susceptible to getting depressed about summer ending. Don't be sad. Remember that change is not bad, that things have to keep moving forward, and summer always comes back around.

Get involved in your ward. Try to go as much as you can, especially in the summer. Try to go to activities, even if they sound lame. Learn people's names. Or else you'll end up in your ward in September, realizing you only know names of about 10 people and YOU'RE the one that feels new. Welcome new callings. Open yourself up to liking people. Read your scriptures.

Don't let your work schedule get you down. For the most part, it works out really well and to your advantage. Don't let other people take advantage of you because you won't say anything. Say something. But remember that work is just a job and it's not your life. Your life is a lot better. 

Anyway, your year is really quite great and adventurous. Live it up and love it! The end of this year is a great set up to having a fantastic 2014. I can't wait to live it!

Love,

Mindy of January 2014

New York

I was so excited when I realized that I could go to New York this summer to visit my mom's side of the family. I was even more excited when my brother in law consented to let me steal Lauren and Kent to come with me for a weekend. My mom was planning to be there for two weeks, so we decided to join her for my cousin Amy's graduation party and my cousin Katy's bridal shower. 

I haven't been on a plane in four years. The last time was when I came back from Korea to the US. So I was so excited get to fly again. We left on Thursday morning and caught our flight. We first flew to Denver, then to Washington DC, then to our destination in Syracuse, NY. 

We looked up all the tips to traveling with an almost 2 year old and I think he did very well. He was entertained by the take off and landing. He sat with his momma very well. He loved when they passed out juice. And on our flight to DC, which was the longest flight, he slept for two hours. Victory!

Our second flight, to DC, ended up a little bit late and we had a half hour to run (almost literally) to the other side of the airport and make our next flight. We had a strolled for the little guy and had to take elevators, because apparently, who ever designed this airport decided it would be awesome to make all flights arrive on one side of the airport and depart on the opposite side, while making you go up and down repeatedly to get there. We literally went on like 8 elevators, and some how made it to the flight with maybe 5 minutes to spare. I'm glad our luggage made it too. By the time we got to Syracuse we were exhausted. 

My uncle David gave us a ride out to our grandma's house where we were staying. He's such a nice guy. We had fun hearing about his job, the country side, and how you would see and hit deer with your car all the time if you lived out that way.

Aunt Betty and Grandma

Grandma's House

We made it to grandma's and promptly got ready for bed. It was 12am their time and 10pm ours, but we were tired.

Little guy woke up every morning around 7. The sun likes to shine bright, even though it was only 5am our time. We woke up friday morning and ate breakfast Dunkin' Donuts style and got ready to go for the day. We visited my Grandpa Amos's grave. Then we decided to make the ride to the Sacred Grove and to Hill Cumorah, very special places to our church's history. We had been there before, but we were pretty young and didn't remember much, so we were excited to go again.

Lowy took a bite of everyone's donuts

We went to the visitor center for the Hill Cumorah and then drove up the hill to the monument and took a few pictures. It was so beautiful and green there. We drove down the road a little ways to the Sacred Grove and to the Farm House that Joseph Smith and his family lived at during the time of the first vision and him growing up. Such a humble house and a sweet feeling standing where the family had lived. We walked around with a missionary who told us about the history and then she left us to have time in the Grove to walk around and take in the beauty.

I recited the first vision for my family in Korean. I would have done it in English, but I know it better in Korean. :) It was great to be there knowing what I know about the church and how much God loves us. It was a special moment. We walked around and were happy. It was beautiful.

We went home that night and ate dinner at my Aunt Donna's house. My grandma, Great Aunt Betty, my Cousin Patrick and his wife and son, and Aunt Beth and Cousin Emily and her boyfriend joined us. It was fun seeing people I hadn't seen in 12 years! I can't believe it had been that long. Kent liked seeing their tractors and running down the hill. Their house is on a beautiful piece of land. It's so green. The whole town is just gorgeous. 

We usually went to sleep around 10 o'clock and got up at 7. Saturday morning we went to a farmer's market in town by Colgate College. It was really fun to walk around and see all the different booths and things for sale. We saw some Amish people. That was a first. It was interesting to me to notice the differences between a market in New York and a market in Utah. In Utah there would have been gaggles of children and strollers and a lot of very well dressed mom's toting a couple children each to the boutiques with baby onesies and hair bows and baby bracelets. In New York, there were only a handful of children, no baby bracelets or onesie shops, and a lot more different people. It was refreshing to be somewhere different. I think sometimes its just good to get outside of Utah and just experience a different group of people and town.

We played with Parker at a park for a little bit and then headed back to Grandma's and then hit the road to Aunt Phyllis's house. It was an hour and a half ride through little towns with pretty houses. We ended up counting how many cemeteries we passed. We passed 13 of them! Woah! Lots of dead people.

Amy's party was nice. She's gorgeous. We had fun talking and seeing family that we hadn't seen for 12 years. We ate some yummy food and had fun chasing Kent all over the yard and trying to convince him to stay in the back yard and not run out into the street. It was a hot day, so we got tired after the party. We left and headed back to Grandma's house.

Before going home we ate dinner at a restaurant called VJ's and got a couple pizzas and ate way too much. It was so good. We ended up eating it for the next few days too. 

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to make the trip back to Phyllis's house to attend Katy's bridal shower. We got ready and decided to leave early because the house was getting hot. We Utahans are not used to any kind of humidity. We made it to the party and got to talk with our family again. I really enjoyed being with them. I wish we lived closer and I hope I can visit more often. The party was hot again, but we at good food again, played some fun games and watched Katy open her presents. Lauren chased Kent for the first half of the party and I chased him for the last half. That kid is so cute and so active. All over the place. 

We drove home after taking a bunch of pictures together and headed up to Donna and David's house for a bon fire. The fire was HUGE and it was so hot to sit anywhere near it. We ended up having to back up our chairs quite a bit away, but it was very nice sitting there watching the fire roar against the backdrop of the beautiful countryside. 

We went to sleep that night with fans on us and slept pretty well.

On Monday we packed up our stuff and got ready to go to the airport for our 12:30 flight. We stopped for some bagels and to see a few shops and then made it to the airport and checked our bags and waited for our flight. 

Our flight was delayed with no definite idea of when it would actually leave. The east coast was having thunderstorms all over and it was really frustrating waiting with a screaming child. Luckily he found some kids to entertain him and chase him all over, so that saved us. Finally, after 6 hours of waiting, we figured out that we could no longer make our connecting flight and would end up being stuck in Washington DC if we went out that night. So I opted to have us stay an extra day and leave on Tuesday instead. So we called Mom and she picked us up. We ate some dinner and returned to Grandma's house for the night.

Tuesday morning we tried again. We made it to the airport and found out our flight was delayed again, but it ended up only leaving a half hour late. We finally got into the plane and left New York, heading to Chicago. When we walked into the Chicago airport there were SO many seas of people. It was crazy. We ate at the Chili's restaurant at the airport and had a big lunch. Then We found a little kiddie play place that totally saved us, and Kent played for two hours. Our flight to SLC was changed quite a few times. At first just the terminal, then it kept getting pushed back an hour and another hour until it was 3 hours delayed and we had again spent 5 to 6 hours waiting around for this flight. When we got on that last play I could have clicked my heals, I was so excited to be done with traveling. Three hours later we were in SLC and were able to find our luggage from the day previously and head home!

It was a long trip back home, but the trip was great and we had such a good weekend. Little buddy did so well on the plane. And Lauren did well too. (Being pregnant and having a kid sit on her lap was  interesting at times.) 

I'm glad we're back. I'm glad Kent isn't going to scratch me with his razor toe nails anymore. But it was fun and I'm so glad to have seen everyone!

I have lots more pictures, but it's a pain putting them up. But rest assured, Aunt Beth, you're making the book this year! ;)

The Sacred Grove

On Friday, June 21st, I visited the Sacred Grove with my mom, my sister, and my nephew.

The first time I visited the Sacred Grove was when I was 14 years old. The same age that Joseph Smith was when he went into the grove to pray and saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. 

I've thought back on my experience quite a bit through the last 12 years. I had always wished that it had meant more to me. I remember walking around the trees and thinking, "Wow, God was here once." It was beautiful and so peaceful, and you can't help but whisper when you're walking around because you can just feel the sacredness of the spot. I didn't have any big spiritual experience, I didn't cry, I didn't sit and ponder life. It was a really good experience, don't get me wrong, but part of me always thought that I should have had a bigger spiritual experience. 

As I grew up and learned, my testimony of this church has formed and it's changed my life. So many life experiences have taught me that God loves everyone of us, Jesus Christ did live and died for us and lives again, the true church was restored on this earth through his prophet, Joseph Smith, and we continue to have prophets and apostles on this earth to lead us just as in Bible times. I know these things because of life and experiences I've had.

When I was a missionary in Korea I spent every day teaching these truths to people in a foreign language, trying so hard to convey my love for the gospel to God's children. I always thought that if I could revisit the Sacred Grove, this time I would feel everything I wanted to feel that first time and it would be the most amazing experience of my life.

So, on Friday, June 21st, as we pulled up to the Sacred Grove and walked into the trees, I thought for sure a spiritual awakening would fall on me like a ton of bricks and I would be so overcome with everything that maybe I'd cry or something. 

But as I walked through I felt the same feelings I felt when I was younger. "Wow, God was here once." The beauty and peace that was there was overwhelming. We whispered the entire time we were walking through. It was so quiet that we could hear the birds singing and the breeze blowing the leaves on the trees. There were pretty butterflies. It was like the whole grove knew that it was a sacred spot and even the trees were grateful that they were able to grow on that soil. 

We took pictures of "pillars of light." I even recited the "First Vision" in Korean for my family. I always wanted to do that since I memorized that in the MTC. We smiled as we watched youth groups studying their scriptures and writing in their journals. It was perfectly peaceful.

I didn't have that huge spiritual downpour of enlightenment that I thought would come. But it was just like the first time I read the Book of Mormon. When I got down on my knees and asked God if the book was true, before I could even listen for an answer I felt my answer. I felt, "You KNOW it's true Mindy. Why do you even need to ask?" 

So as I walked into the Grove and started to ask God for the affirmation of the truth of the First Vision, instead of the emotional spiritual experience I was looking for, I just felt it. I felt, "You KNOW it's true Mindy. You don't need anything more."

I didn't have a huge spiritual experience, but as I've learned throughout life, I didn't need a huge experience to solidify what I already knew to be true. Because I already know it! I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, that he helped bring the restored church to the earth. I've known this since before I was 14 and before I was a missionary and before I walked in the sacred grove a few days ago. I knew this all to be true. 

I think more than anything I just felt so grateful to know all of this. To really KNOW all of this and not just believe it or think it might be true. But to know and to live life with this knowledge and comfort of God's plan for me and for everyone. 

I'm so glad we were able to visit the Sacred Grove. If anything, it just helped me remember what I know because of Joseph Smith's first vision and how incredible it is that because of that one event, I am able to be with my family for eternity and once again live with God again.

Summer Adventures Part One

I haven't really blogged lately.

I've been having a great summer so far. In fact, the other day I realized that it was almost July and I kind of got a little bit of anxiety realizing that the summer is going really fast and that it will be over before I know it! Luckily I've been doing some fun things!

Annalie and I went to the redwood forest. Luckily I wrote about that trip. I would have forgotten a lot about that. I finally am able to add pictures so here's a few.

I went camping with Lynsie, Annalie, Brittni, and her dogs in Southern Utah the last weekend of April. We went to Sand Hallow Reservoir and had a blast. We tried out my huge new tent, spent some quality time in the sun, and played in the water. I was still in the throws of my stress fracture, and my right leg started swelling quite a bit during the trip. That was unfortunate. But we had fun. We had camp fires, we played some games, and had a good time being friends again. We went in my baby little car and somehow we fit everything in the car. It was quite the Tetris game, but we did it. I am so glad Lynsie and Brittni came. I love them so so much.

I went fishing with my brother and brother in law on memorial day. We woke up at 5:30 and were out on the water from 6 until 2 or so. We fished at a park in Highland, at Vivian park at the handicapped park, and then at Deer Creek. They caught two fish at Vivian park and nothing else. But I had fun reading and floating on my boat for a while. I sure love being in the sun.

I had 10 days off at the end of May. I was originally planning on attending a wedding that week, but it was postponed, so I had a bunch of time off. I ended up going to Bryce Canyon National Park with my mom and my dad. We camped for two nights, spent time by the fire, in the little lake on my boat, and trying to warm up in our tent because it got pretty cold. My dad ran in a race. It was a fun weekend. The campsite we were at was perfect. Hardly any people, forest, by a lake, and peaceful. I would definitely go back again.

My latest adventure was to New York to visit my mom's side of the family. I'll write about that one in more detail. I was excited to go on an airplane somewhere. I went with my sister and her little son to meet up with my mom. Super fun times.

I can't believe that June is over in a few days. I still have a few things left on my summer to do list and I am really excited about doing them. I just hope summer lasts long enough to do them all!