Getting the Hang of This

I can't tell if it seems like I've only been here for 2 weeks or I've already been here for 2 whole weeks. The days are so long, but the weeks are flying by! I miss home so much, but I love it here at the same time and I'm learning so much from how to transpose hymns into 8 different key signatures, how to make my own dinner, how to get out of a straw maze in the freezing cold, and so much more! So as I'm sure you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks! One of the first things that I did out here was audition for choir. I've auditioned for choir tons of times, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. Wrong. Long story short, I apparently have a LOT of improving to do...so I'm in the lowest choir, Women's Glee, this semester. And not only that, but I was the only one who made choir callbacks that didn't end up making it into the final group. When I first got this news, I was crushed. This might sound totally spoiled, but I'm just not used to being in the lowest of anything, especially anything related to music. After a lot of tears and help from awesome friends, family, and roommates, I decided to stop thinking about everything that was going wrong and remember how lucky I am to be here in the first place. I have a temple 5 minutes away from my apartment, I have professors that not only care about me and my education, but that pray about me, and so many other things. So I went to my first day of Women's Glee with a good attitude and so far I love it! The choir may not be as good as my high school choirs, but it is way better than any other non-audition choir I have ever heard and the director is so nice! I know that it will be a good learning experience for me and that even if it isn't what I have chosen for myself, there is a reason I was put there.

Last week I got a message from a friend that I went to church with at home saying that her niece, Kenz Hall, who is pretty well known in Utah and is getting more and more well known, was performing in Rexburg on Friday night. I looked her up on youtube and watched some of her videos and thought she was pretty good so I decided to go. I ended up going by myself, so I felt pretty awkward, but by the end of the night, I was so glad I went! She was AMAZING and I went to talk to her afterwards and we talked about her cousins that I used to babysit for a while. I had a blast! So when you get the chance, look up Kenz Hall! You won't regret it!

One thing I was not expecting here at all was how fast it got cold! It's only September and 50 degrees is considered a warm day. Part of the reason it's so cold is because it's super windy all the time. I also didn't think to buy an umbrella right away and that was a mistake. 40 degrees + wind + rain + class on the other side of campus = really cold Coley! Luckily I have an umbrella now and my winter coat came in the mail just in time! So for all you guys who have been complaining because it's hot in Fishers, I will trade you in a heartbeat! This is definitely going to be hard to get used to. I do not do well with the cold!

On Friday night we decided to go to a Straw Maze and we got there and they had...wait for it...CAMELS! Crazy right?! Camels...in Rexburg, Idaho! They were a little feisty though haha. One tried to bite my head and eat my phone. And one head-butted Lauren in the butt. So that was a really fun surprise. But in the maze it was a little more complicated than I thought it would be. We ended up getting split up so Lauren and I were all alone and we were about to give up when we saw this guy on top of the bales of straw and he helped us out a bit (thank goodness) but we still got lost again and somehow came out some side exit. The rest of our group said we cheated, but we were just glad to be out! Haha it was still fun though and we got hot cocoa and scones at the end (:

Also, I just need to give my girl Hilary Duff a shoutout (: Yesterday was her 26th birthday so we had a little mini Hilary Duff movie marathon. Obviously we couldn't watch all the movies, but it was a fun little flashback to the good old days (;

Here at Last!

After saying a lot of VERY hard goodbyes, I finally left Fishers and drove out to Idaho on Wednesday morning and got here late Thursday night. I absolutely love it here! But before I get into all the details of what I've been up to out here, I have to fill you in on all the fun stuff I did before I left home.

So since everyone else in Fishers has been in school for a while, I had a lot of free time at home...and when I have a lot of free time, I guess I make stuff! Haha I made a baby cardigan for my Sunday School teacher, a canvas for Stirling's sister, Camden, who is having a little boy next month, and I made myself a little headband. Fun stuff, huh?

I also went to the Fishers vs. HSE football game and it was a pretty eventful game! Fishers and HSE are rivals, so the game is already a huge deal as it is (basically the whole town of Fishers is there), but there was a storm coming so the game was delayed. Twice. The first time we had to all go sit in the gym until it cleared up, and the second time they decided to reschedule the rest of the game for the next morning. Fishers ended up winning 51-31. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger!

On Labor Day, Stirling and I had our last big date before I left and went downtown to the Star Wars exhibit. Obviously that was more his thing than mine, but I still had a lot of fun! We also walked around downtown, went to lunch, and to Circle Center Mall. Later that week we made breakfast for our parents and his sister and brother-in-law. It was super fun and super tasty! (:

Now I'm sure most of you know that Idaho is VERY far away from Idaho. It's a 24 hour drive, so we took a little break in Minnesota to visit my "twin" Britney and her family. I also got to meet her boyfriend Drake and have dinner there. We laughed the ENTIRE time! It was great (:

Once I finally got here, I got to set up my apartment and I'm in love with everything about my apartment! It's super cute and my roommates are so awesome! Lauren was in my stake at home and we share a room, then we also have Alexa who is from Hawaii (so jealous), Elyse and Nahiomi who are both from Kentucky, and Haley who is from Colorado and just got engaged last week!! So exciting! So basically, I absolutely love it out here! It's gonna be hard to take care of myself, but my awesome mom stayed out here for a couple days and made a bunch of freezer meals for me, so that will be a HUGE help! (Thank you again mommy!) I also had church yesterday and there a TON of freshman girls in my ward. There aren't very many guys and most of the guys are returned missionaries haha. Then last night we watched 17 Miracles and Insidious, which are to verrrrry different movie. One makes you sad cry and one makes you cry in horror haha. Luckily we're all still alive! Today was my first day of classes and so far they all seem good! So I hope everyone in Fishers is doing well! I miss you all a ton!! Have a great week friends (: