Riley Elizabeth.

Today is a very special day because my sister Riley is now 17 years old! There is no way I could sum up our relationship in a blog post, but here are some of my favorite things about my little (taller than me) sister!

Riley always makes me laugh. We have been entertaining each other since were just little girls and Riley hasn't stopped making me laugh since. We have spent many late nights talking and laughing in her room and would always remind my mom that we are just "sister bonding" when she would tell us to go to bed because we had school the next day. I also don't think any family road trip would be the same without her in the backseat with me, usually taking ugly selfies and singing along way too loud to the music with me. Just the other night, she called me and I hadn't laughed so hard in a while. This girl is hilarious and doesn't take life too seriously and I love it!

Havasupi backpacking trip-Summer 2013. Dying at mile 8.

Riley always makes time for me, and the other people she loves. I cannot count the number of times that I've been trying to do homework or go to bed early or do other some productive thing and Riley will come in and ask me to watch a movie with her, or if she can just "show me this YouTube video real quick". Let me tell you, 10 YouTube videos later, it's never very quick. But I love that she helps remind me what's important because I remember those nights messing around with her a lot more than perfectly completed math homework! She also understands my extrovert needs to be with people a majority of the time, and puts up with me when I just walk into her room and lay on her bed.

Trampoline naps-February 2014.

Riley isn't afraid to talk about her feelings. For some reason, I get super awkward when I'm talking about my feelings with my family. I'm comfortable telling other people about them, but when it comes to the people I know and loves best, the awkward 12 year old that didn't tell my family anything comes back. Riley is really good at genuinely complimenting everyone and expressing her appreciation and love for her family. We used to mostly just joke around and talk about the latest drama, but as we've gotten older we've been able to talk about the things that really matter and I love it.

Cheesy Target portraits-December 2013.

Riley has an unbelievably strong belief in Heavenly Father and his gospel. My sister sticks to her beliefs no matter what, and her testimony shines through everything she does. Even if her friends aren't making the greatest decisions, she always keeps things in perspective and chooses the right thing. She is an incredible example to me. I love walking into her room and seeing the scriptures laying out on her bed, motivating me to do better!

Seminary Graduation- May 2013.

Riley is always learning new things. When she was in elementary school, she would write "reports" on different animals just for fun. Not to turn in to her teacher or anything. She had a huge collection of books on animals and with those combined with the Internet, she would research things she was interested in and just write in them. Even now, she loves to read just like me and we have spent many Christmas breaks laying on the couches in our living room reading.

Natural beauty and sister love.

Riley is one of the most generous people I know! When we were younger, she would always buy me little presents or ask me if I wanted anything when we were at the store. Whenever we go on road trips, I never bring cash because I know I will waste it on stupid stuff, but we always walk out of the gas station with a snack for me and a snack for her, all on her bill. I probably owe her about $50 in gas station snacks, and it's kind of become a joke between us. (I mean, why would I bring money if this system is working so well?) She surprised me with a trip to Disneyland for my 16th birthday and it was so much fun! Riley is always willing to share the things she has.

Thanksgiving kisses-November 2013.

Basically, I love this girl a lot and I look up to her so much! I'm sad I can't be there for her birthday, but I'm so excited that she'll be up here in a week and a half with the rest of my family!

XOXO,
Cady

P.S. I have to admit that I stole about half of these pictures off Riley's Instagram... I don't have a ton of pictures of us on my computer! Also, apology for lack of childhood pictures. There are some pretty good ones, but they are all on my home computer :(

Happy.

Happy International Happiness Day, folks! Yes, that's a holiday and today has been simply grand.

But first, let me apologize for my complete lack of presence in the blogging sphere these last couple of weeks! I have been so incredibly busy with school and friends and trying to get enough sleep and maybe exercise sometimes that I have had no time to blog! Tomorrow I'll post an update on my life, for those of you that are dying to know what I've been up to ;)

Anyways, back to happiness. I've had plenty of reasons to be happy today! (Well, most days really.)

First of all, it was so sunny and beautiful out...I wore a short sleeve shirt and sandals and it was glorious.

Just a little selfie to prove that I'm still alive. Shout-out to that headband for hiding my 3rd day hair.

Also, March Madness started today! I'm usually not a big sports follower but my girl Kayla is and organized a bracket challenge for our ward and I'm getting a bit competitive about it. Unfortunately my bracket skills have not been amazing thus far...I'm at a solid 21.4% accuracy right now. But these upsets today are killing me! As is the fact that BYU lost today. Especially since I may or may not have skipped two classes to watch the game. (Shh don't tell my mom.) I'm still holding out for ASU to win tonight and then I can be happy with one of my schools! 

I'm also really happy that my family is coming to visit me in TWO WEEKS! They are coming up for General Conference and I'm so excited to see them all. Riley is sleeping over and it is going to be so much fun! I'm excited to show my little guys around campus and instill some BYU pride in them :)

Oh, and I almost forgot. This has been my soundtrack for the day. I mean, what works for International Happiness Day better than this song?

Yes, it's a little bit embarrassing how much I fangirl over this group. But come on, they are so charming and those voices. They kill me.

I'm off to Salt Lake tonight for some 80's dancing and am so ready. And by ready, I mean running on 4 hours of sleep. Oh, college life.

Hope you had a happy day!

XOXO

Cady

Seven Weeks.

I look at the calendar. Seven weeks left, it tells me.

Seven weeks left of my freshman year of college.

Seven weeks with these people that I have grown to love so much over the past six months.

Seven weeks with a meal card that has given me a lot of unnecessary calories, but a lot of good memories.

Seven weeks of taking naps on my comfy bed in my cozy little dorm room.

Seven weeks where my best friends live 5 steps away from my door.

Seven weeks of cramming as many people into cars as possible wherever we go.

Seven weeks of staying up and sleeping in too late.

Seven weeks of Relief Society lessons taught by my dearest friends.

Seven weeks of visiting hours, where the boys invade the hall for a few hours every week.

Seven weeks of being with friends every night, not just on the weekends.

Seven weeks left in one of the best years of my life.

Seven weeks of classes that interest and excite me.

Seven weeks of some classes that I won’t be sad to be finished with.

Seven weeks of nights at the library till 12 am.

Seven weeks of cramming for tests and hoping for the best.

Seven weeks of last-minute assignments and rushing.

Seven weeks of reading that I will never be caught up on.

Seven weeks of trying to stay motivated and always feeling a little bit stressed.

Seven weeks left of my freshman year of college.

That leaves me feeling both thankful and unhappy, in the most bittersweet sort of way.

Seven weeks, that’s all I’ve got.

What matters now is what I do with it.

XOXO
Cady

Oh Darn, I'm Not Perfect.

You know when you're just feeling like you're really rocking at the whole life thing? And just thinking, "Yeah I'm a great person! I got this." And then you just have a reality check where all the things you need to improve on come crashing down on you in one big wave of realization? That happened to me today. I realized that I have been so self-absorbed lately that I've been having a hard time really caring about others. I may notice that one of my friends seems a little down but decide not to say anything because I don't really have that much time to listen. Or I may think of one of my friends back home that I should call and catch up with, but then I remember the test I need to study for. Life is busy, but if its too busy to make time to love others and show them that I care, then it's too busy. Sure, its great when my makeup looks good or I get asked out or I get an A on a test, but if I'm not doing anything to make the lives of those around me a little better, what's the point?

In college it's pretty easy to get selfish. I basically only have to worry about my schedule, my stuff, and my desires. Gone are the days of sharing a car with my sister and my mom and working my schedule around those of five other people. No more babysitting, driving siblings around, helping make dinner, or stopping by the grocery store to my mom. And I'll admit, it's nice! It's nice to be independent and make my own decisions and I've learned a lot from being away from home, but I'm not sure its made me less selfless. Luckily I have the amazing opportunity to be surrounded by people who need help! Everyone gets stressed out by school, everyone gets sick without a mom to take care of them, and everyone wants someone to talk about their day to. Its all about being a little less selfish, getting out of my bubble, and reaching out and helping someone else.

Now I can respond two ways to this reality check that hit me today. I could justify my actions and tell myself that I'm doing enough already, and let this thought slip away. Or I could let this fault of mine motivate me and inspire me to be better. I think I'll choose the second. I won't spend time regretting what I have or haven't done in the past, but today I'm going to change. I'm going to look outward just a little more and just try to be a little better. That's what we're here for right?

XOXO
Cady

found on Pinterest

found on Pinterest

Kayla's Going to the Philippines!

Big news here. One of my very best friends, Kayla Lockwood opened her mission call last night and she is going to the Philippines Manila mission! I am so incredibly proud of her. I was so emotional last night out of both excitement and realization that she's not going to be here for the next 2 years! (I also told her that she's going to be the vanilla in Manila...we liked it.)

Erica and I celebrated at Texas Roadhouse last night with her, a treat from the Lockwood family who couldn't take her out themselves. I was more than happy to step in :) It's a toss up if the best part was the rolls, the ribs, or the waiter's comment to Kayla: "Good luck on your mission. Baptize the hell out of them!" We were dying.

Let me tell you a little bit about Kayla. She is one of the most charitable and thoughtful people I have ever met in my entire life. She loves birthdays and is always the first to organize a birthday celebration or surprise for one of the girls in our hall. She is also the queen of leaving sweet notes for people-she has a huge collection of adorable cards that she leaves for her friends as thank you notes, or just as a little pick-me-up. Kayla is also the best listener-she is always willing to listen and is interested in the things I have to tell her. She has been an amazing example to me this year, and I feel like I've gotten a little bit kinder and more thoughtful just from being her friend!

Now lest you think that she's one of those people where the only word to describe them is "nice" but they have no personality, you are so wrong. Kayla makes me laugh with her hilarious comments and stories every single day. This girl also loves to dance (especially dressed up in 80's attire), is extremely competitive on the basketball court, and is addicted to shopping. She is a fabulous combination of sassy and sweet. We have so many good memories and I'm going to miss her so much!

I'm so proud of this girl and her decision to serve a mission. I'm also sure glad that I know this church is true and that this is the Lord's work, or else I'd have a really hard time with the fact that a lot of my friends are or will be spread across the country!

XOXO
Cady

Sunshine and Smiles

These last couple of days have been just lovely. First of all, let's talk about this weather! It has been absolutely beautiful outside and it's like Provo has come alive again! Everyone has been throwing on their shorts and sandals and coming outside at every chance they get. Over the weekend, I spent some time out on the grass by Helaman Halls. On Sunday, the lawn was completely covered in picnic blankets and happy freshman....it was wonderful.

See how happy the sun makes us?

Although I struggled today to not give in to the temptation to ditch all my classes and lay on the grass all day, I did enjoy a beautiful lunch outside and embraced all the warmth I could in between classes.

Another thing that made my day bright besides all this sunshine was the sweet note I received in the mail today. I woke up to an email that I had a package waiting for me and unexpected packages are a big deal so I hurried over to the mail counter (in my pajamas...but let's not talk about the fact.) and was so happy to open the envelope that had this little gem in it:

This is from my 8 year old brother, Nick, who is one of the sweetest people in the entire world and one of my best friends. He, along with all the other elementary school aged kids in the world, has become obsessed with the "Rainbow Loom" and making stretchy bracelets on it. (His teacher had to send out an email telling parents that their kids weren't allowed to sell them at school anymore...hahaha) My mom told me that he proudly came up with this note all on his own...

And it melted my heart. Seriously. I couldn't help but smile when I read it. What a sweet kid. He's never allowed to grow up.

Today I'm just grateful for sunshine and smiles.

XOXO
Cady

I Need Thee Every Hour

Source: lds.org

One of my favorite things about going to BYU is going to church every Sunday and being taught by my peers! I've always loved going to church, but there's something different about hearing the testimonies of my friends every week. And I'm friends with some amazing people. Today my friend Julie (shoutout to her because I know she reads my blog!) gave an amazing lesson in Relief Society that was just what I needed today. She just reminded us that Christ needs to be the center of our life and that's all that really matters. I feel like lately I've been getting really distracted by silly things lately that are really not very important when I look at the grand scheme of things.When  more of my attention on becoming more like Christ instead of becoming what those around me expect me to be, I'm a lot dang happier. She also had us sing I Need Thee Every Hour, one of my favorites.

This made me reflect on how much I think I can do things on my own and forget to look to the Lord. When it comes down to it, I'm an imperfect 18 year old girl who has no idea what is coming in her life. I've had some decisions to make lately and as I've prayed to know what Heavenly Father wants me to do, I have been so comforted to receive answers from Him regarding the direction I in which I should go. It's so liberating to put my life into God's hands and let Him guide me. Because I know that what He has in mind for me is better than anything I have in mind for myself! 

Basically, I'm just so glad for a God that loves me and a Savior that makes it possible for me to change and the great examples I have all around me of people that are trying to be more like Him.

I'll post an update of this weekend hopefully tomorrow! But until then...

XOXO

Cady