Hello All!

Hey guys!

So I have been totally failing to blog and I am sorry to those who kept checking it but I hadn't updated in awhile. No excuses. I'm sorry I didn't keep up with it.

So here is a quick idea of how the end of last semester went. Thanksgiving, I went home and saw everyone! Alex, Sarah, Morgan, Michelle, Mom, Dad, everyone. Thanksgiving day was great. Full of good food, traditional and non-traditional. Very yummy. That Friday, Alex was baptized into the LDS church. It was soooo amazing. I can't even put it in words. Saturday all of my friends and family went to the Renaissance Festival mostly for Matea because she had never been before. We had an absolute blast! Everyone was in costume, minus my parents and we just had a really great time. Got rained on a bit. Matea bought a gypsy costume so next year she will have a more athentic costume and it looked great on her. Here are some pictures from Ren Fest!

When Thanksgiving break ended I am not going to lie. I had NO desire to back to Ball State. When we were about to get in the car I hugged my mom and broke down crying. I really freaked her and myself out. I did however get on the airplane and I DID have a great last three weeks of school. I think the growing pains have finally ceased. The last three weeks went by quickly. I hung out a lot more with Angela and kept up with school work. Finals went well. Got all A's on my finals. The last few days of school I did nothing but have fun. I didn't study much really. On Wednesday I spent time with Catie and Mandy since it was Catie's last day at Ball State. It was sad to see her go but we are still keeping in touch. Angela and I hung out almost every night, but our favorite night was Thursday the 17th. Instead of having normal Institute (bible study) we had a game night. Not only that but Elder Snow, Wade, Stranski and our normal missionaries were able to join us. It was a total blast!

Christmas break was very much needed and very wonderful. The first few days we did nothing but family things which included shopping for Christmas presents! Mostly cloths shopping but we had a good time. Christmas day we had dinner with the Potter's family and we played cards well into the night. I spent New Years at Morgan's house and got to see my friends who were still in high school. New Years day my family got a new addition: Mia. She is a tea cup schnauzer! Brown and white party, going to only be about 6 pounds. She is adorable and vicious! She loves to nibble on toes, fingers, hands, jeans, my hair, yes you read that right! She would literally climb up my torso to chew on my hair! My mom thought it was the funniest thing on earth. She has pictures. Ask for them. Oh! I also saw The Princess and the Frog with Morgan, Sarah, Michelle, and Ashley and we went wearing sun dresses and had a blast! Then on January 5th Alex came in town from Dubia. The 6th Alex, Sarah, Morgan and I totally crashed Langham Creek (my high school). Why? You may ask. We had nothing better to do and beloved teachers to see again. We spent most of the morning there before going back home to take care of Mia. Later that afternoon Perry, Morgan, Sarah, Alex and I played Brawl, it was so much fun! We got way to into it but had an excellent time. Then after that Alex and I along with the young men/women went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was Alex's first time and I am honored to have been able to be there with him. Saturday was devoted to having drinks with Doc Lav. Mrs. Lav and baby lav! She was soo cute and the afternoon was passed in joy! After a few more wonderful hours in great company it was time to go back to school. Leaving this time was much easier than the first time. I promise. I shed a few tears on the plane but that was it!

The first week back went very well. Classes are going great and I ate dinner every night with someone I knew and a few lunches with other people. I have two classes with Heather which is a very nice change from none. I am taking Music Theory, Sight Singing, Harp Ensemble, Orchestra, Honors 199 which is about American family values, and Honors 203 which is literature from the 20th century on. I will be reading many good books and some not so good. Then I went to Utah for MLK weekend and was able to attend Zach and Hailey's wedding! It was a wonderful day and I had so much fun hanging out with cousins and the like! So there you go Aunt Tami! I finally updated. Hope everything is going well with the rest of you guys!

Love you lots!
Valerie