also lately

I love watching videos.

Here are some of my favorites recently :)

This is Spain.

This will be my life.

(sort of)

This gem of a youtube video was shown to me by my brother

He said I was the only one who thought it was funny

I cried the whole time.

Video numero tres:

Here's the deal...I love Michael Jackson.

LOTS

so...I have issues with people redoing what is already awesome

but this guy does a dang good job.

Also...my brother loves this guy.

p.s. Special thanks to Tay J for the Spain-ness :)

lately

The BYU-Idaho Center

or let's just call it the Buick from now on. :)

I had the opportunity on friday to attend the dedication of the new building on BYU-Idaho's campus. It was so amazing! Such a great experience. Elder Bednar, Elder Nelson and President Eyring all came and spoke. President Eyring gave the dedicatory prayer. This construction has been going on for years and years...so it was such a huge deal for us to finally see the end. I am so grateful for how perfect the timing was that I got to be at the dedication before I leave byui for a year and a half. Having so many former Ricks College/BYU-Idaho presidents there was amazing in itself.

Let me just say a bit about BYU Idaho. It is totally my school. I know that I was supposed to go there and that the Lord's hand has been in my life so much there. I can't imagine if I had gone anywhere else. I wouldn't trade my experiences from byui for anything in the world. The school tends to get a lot of flack from people...everywhere. Because they don't understand. I know it sounds so cheesy...but it is true! You will never understand why byui is so great until you go there. (side note: I hate the byu/byui rivalry thing. I think it is prideful and dumb) But there really is something special about that place and it is a part of me now. I love it so much!! It will always always have a huge place in my heart.

As far as the Buick goes (and the new construction done on the Manwaring Center) it does not feel like Rexburg. It's like one second you think you are in Rexburg but then when you step inside you forgot and now you're actually on temple square somewhere. The buildings are amazing. They feel way too fancy and big for us. The Buick seats 15,000 and is the second largest auditorium west of the Mississippi. Second only to the Conference Center in Salt Lake. In fact, it looks like a smaller version of the Conference Center (which seats 22,000). Not to mention...it has TEN basketball courts. I was in heaven just looking at them. While it feels too big for us, both Elder Bednar and President Eyring metioned that the construction has been done for purposes we do not understand yet. It has been guided by prophets. President Eyring said,

"These structures, significant in their own right, are also symbolic. They were approved by the Board of Education which is chaired by the president of the church for special reasons. They are central to the University that has a vital role to play in the Lord's kingdom on Earth."

Isn't that amazing?! Oh, I love it. I am so grateful for every tithing dollar that went into building this wonderful auditorium just for us.

If you want to watch the dedication for yourself, you can!

This was a pretty long post...can you tell it's kinda important to me? :)

the long and winding road...

for one of my photography projects, i had to pick a landmark to take pictures of all throughout the semester. the place i chose was a bit of a drive....down this road. it is a pretty sweet road.

idaho is beautiful.

anyway, because of the long drive i had lots of good thinking time.

or just singing time.

one time i drove all the way out there just to discover i didn't have a memory card in my camera....it was...awesome.

but, some of the time i have a friend with me :)

sometimes rachel, lots of times kelle,

and sometimes lindsay and lexie.

it's nice to have the company of some of my best friends to make my projects truly worth while.

driving is the best for thinking, bonding, listening, pondering

and all sorts of things.

i really love it.

snowy times

sometimes i live in rexburg.

and it snows a lot.

most of the time this means taking ten extra minutes walking to class to avoid falling on your face, cars too cold to start and the bottom of your jeans wet up to your knees. but, sometimes it means grand adventures :)

my very lovely roommate lexie wrote about the snow adventure we had last week on her blog.

you should read about it. she writes it way better than i could! it was the best. ever.

love it.

i colored this

Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight.

ah, back in Rexburg.
it is good to be back...but being home was the Bomb.com

seriously.

i love my family
with such a big change in my life coming very soon, i was so ready to be with them
and those little boys make me happy


plus, i got to spend time with some of my favorite boys, friends and casey-rachel time of course.
i didn't even do any homework :)
it was the best.

totally worth the 20 hours i drove for it to happen.

but, now i have three more weeks of busy school and i have to get straight a's. i must.
so, here i go...off to conquer my finals :)


p.s. Murphy died during the break. i guess he didn't have a very good Thanksgiving. poor little guy. he was a good fish.

it's happening

my photo a day blogging!

you're gunna wanna keep up with it :)

click here

Elder F. Enzio Busche

...is a cool guy.
Watch this video.



Read the whole talk here.
It is awesome.

If you really want to be cool, or you just really like Elder Busche like I do, then you'll want to read about his story here.

the brothers

just a little shout out to my FHE brothers...

they are great.

definitely some of the best i've ever had.

they've always been so supportive of my mission decision

a couple of them came over the other night to give me this gift

it was so nice! i loved it.

i love them!

don't they look charming? :)

Called to Serve

In Malaga, Spain of course!

I am so happy to finally have my call...it was a long wait.

But now I have a whole lot of preparing to do! :)

Spain is the best. (I already know it)

I report March 16, 2011 to the Provo Missionary Training Center for a couple weeks then I'll go to the MTC in Madrid, Spain.

Doesn't that sound lovely?

I can't wait.

Basically every picture looks amazing, like this one.

Notice that Malaga is in southern Espana. Right by the Mediterranean Sea. How nice. :)

my life be like

how does a little update sound?
i thought so too.
here are some things that are happening in my life...now

relief society secretary - this is my calling. do i do anything? not really. but i love it :) plus the president is my super cool roommate. we keep it real.

lead sports photographer - i guess they thought i knew what i was doing or something...whateves. however, the responsibility actually means that i take less photos. weird. but that's ok cause my color photography class makes up for it :)

i lost and found my keys...again

lots of projects - my major is rather test free...but boy do i do a lot of projects! it's made my life crazy. but...i really really love it. i'd take a mixed media project over a test any day :)

pregos - BOTH of my sisters are pregnant! :) i'm so insanely happy and excited for them!! it is such a blessing. i will be gone when they have the babies...but i will just give them extra loving once i get home!

21 - when did that happen? oh yeah, a month ago. good thing i act the same as i did when i was eighteen. it's all the same. but the best part is that my new baby nephew Parker was born on my birthday! we are twins :)

waiting - this is my life. just waiting for my mission call. it has been a pretty good test of my patience...but i'm ok with that. it's just making me really excited. where will i go? who knows!

one in 8 million

so last year The New York Times did a series called

"One in 8 Million"

you should check it out here.

they profiled random people in new york city and told their story.

it is amazing and so inspiring.

it makes me want to be a better photographer.

this series is photojournalism at its finest and i LOVE it!

there is one in particular that i love :)

it is about a mormon sister missionary.

listen and watch her story here.

chipmunk face

love it....NOT!

so listen

i have big news

but first thing's first.

LOOK at my cute roommates!

aren't they cute?

i think so too.

meet lexie, mary, kylee, lindsay, and kelle. (although i've already lived with kelle for basically forever) yes.

in other news...i'm going on a mission!

that's right. the papes have begun. i kind of hate how long it takes to get the doctor stuff done though. i want my call now! but i guess i have to be patient. oh well :)

here are just a few of the reasons for going on a mission:

• i want to help people
• i have a testimony
• i want to teach others about Christ
• i want to serve the Lord
• missions are great
• being one of the boys tends to be a theme in my life
• i love going new places
• temple temple temple
• it just feels right

ok...honestly kind of weird to put that into a list. but really i just know that this is what i want to do right now...and what Heavenly Father wants me to do too. so what more do i need?

basically...

i'm really excited :)

I DID IT

i was so backed up on picture editing.
but i actually somewhat caught up...

and i feel so accomplished :)























This is the HUGE bonfire i went to this weekend...in a place we call "the crack"
it's good stuff :)

today i learned about...

"...the Lord has called for “cheerful hearts and countenances” (D&C 59:15). He has asked us to so speak and so act that we edify or build one another and has indicated that “that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness” (D&C 50:23). At Winter Quarters, as the Saints were in the midst of an arduous exodus, the Lord commanded, “Let your words tend to edifying one another” (D&C 136:24). Nephi declared that the fruit of receiving the Holy Ghost and listening to the promptings of the Spirit is that we may speak with “the tongue of angels” (2 Ne. 32:2). Thus we create a spirit of reverence and of revelation."

Robert S. Wood

"The Tongue of Angels"

We are all here to help each other

Does your daily communication edify?

filter out the static

ta da!

i've officially been back in rexburg for one week.
sometimes it feels like i never left.

while i'm always happy to come back...it is also always sad to leave home. plus i had an awesome summer. i had so much fun.

it was also very eventful actually...

i went on a road trip,
went camping with my family,

went everywhere without shoes,
became Elaine,

spent a weekend at a cabin with my friends,
kissed my nephews a million times,

played at the park,

went to the temple every chance i could,

worked my butt off,

tutored a couple crazy kids,
said goodbye to four of my best friends
and had a roommate reunion in idaho.

there were more things.

too many things to write in a list on my blog :)

but they were all good...

happy sunshine and rainbows.

i already miss my family and summer so much.

but now i'm back! and it's so great! sometimes the end of an era isn't a bad thing. i'm so excited for this semester and the choices that i am making now.

all my college life i have always been so blessed with awesome roommates...

and this semester is no exception :)

at first i was a little scared because the other four girls already knew each other and lived there.

but alas, they are awesome and we are already becoming good friends...all six of us! nailed it.

also...my classes are the bomb diggity for real. here they are:

D&C - with the coolest most rockstar religion teacher ever!

Interpersonal Communications - with my favorite comm teacher

Color Photography - with my camera

Scroll Photography - the newspaper

Advertising Principles - we'll see how that goes

Some environmenty science class online

don't they sound fabulous?

i love school!

corey "get some" buxton

it is an interesting thing when someone dies.

especially someone you knew well

it is interesting to see how people react to death and how they deal with it.

my friend corey, who was the younger brother of my good friend jeff buxton, passed away on thursday

it was a shock. to everyone.

i guess it is always a shock when a 17 year old kid dies

it never seems right

however, it makes me so grateful for what i know

i know the Lord's hand is in everything

i know he has a plan

i know families are forever

and that's all that matters.

corey was such a good boy :)

the sweetest

and so hilarious

everything was funnier when corey was around

i love that boy

and miss him so much

i pray for his family...and hope you will too

san francisco

road trips are just the greatest.

this past weekend i got to go on the best road trip ever with some of my best friends ever :)

good times.

here's how the trip went...

thursday

we drove the 9 hours to get to san francisco.

it's a good thing those boys are so funny...cause the drive wasn't boring :)

we stayed with matt's aunt and uncle who were awesome!

the trip wouldn't have been nearly as successful if they hadn't helped so much.

plus they were hilarious and had adorable children.

friday

we rode our bikes to the BART station

there was a bike mishap...and scott's bike needed a new tube thingy.

but, thanks to matt and jeff wheeling through san fran, they were able to fix the bike just before our ferry to sausilito.

the ferry was amazing.

i'm officially in love with san francisco.

then we biked to the golden gate bridge and across it...it was super foggy but still very cool :)

from there we rode our bikes around san francisco.

at this point we were lost...but i really didn't know because i was in the back...the whole time....being a wimpy girl.

but the boys were very nice and someone always stayed behind with me (usually scott...you're the best scottie)

i guess i did ok...considering i was trying to keep up with four very in shape boys.

anyways, we went to ghirardelli square first...to end a long bike ride with some chocolate ice cream.

all i wanted at that point was some water :)

then we went to fisherman's warf and pier 39.

the boys ate.

and i took pictures.

i wish i could have taken more pictures...but i was on a bike too much.

the whole city looks like a picture.

it was rather overwhelming how picturesque it was.

china town was the next destination.

it was just a whole lot of little chinese trinket stores of junk

so naturally trey bought more than anyone else :)

but it was really fun.

we ate dinner at a random place there...i had curry.

we were so dead.

so...we rode back to the bart. and then home.

overall we rode about 22 miles.

matt said 10 at first and i believed him :)

so 22 was a bit of a shocker.

haha no wonder we were tired!

it was a great day!

saturday

we started the day off right by going to the oakland temple.

it was beautiful.

the view from the temple is really amazing.

aren't they cute?

most of our morning was spent in the temple...but that was alright with me :)

then we took lots of crazy pictures where the boys push each other around and i just laugh

after eating at a chinese woman's burger place in oakland we headed to muir woods.

muir woods is great.

i love trees.

it was nice to be around so much nature...rather refreshing.

vegas is so barren.

while in muir woods we read a talk by elder winkel about redwoods and how they support each other with their root system. it was tender :)

then we had a picnic.

scott had an entire chicken in his bag!

but trey ate most of it.

then the picture madness ensued again.

after muir woods we called it a day.

but not until after getting ice cream (thanks to dan) and playing a thrilling game of killer bunnies.

killer bunnies always makes me pee my pants.

of laughter that is...

sunday

church.

drive.

home.

i loved every second of the trip! i am so lucky to be friends with such great boys :)

they make me laugh so hard!

all of them are amazing and will be the best missionaries!

yay for the adventures of the fabulous five!

mi familia

one of the best parts about summer is that i get to play with my family lots :)

a couple weeks ago we went to a park and had tin foil dinners, played kickball and just had a blast.

i took a million pictures.

most of them are of these two boys...


but with faces like that...can you really blame me? :)

oh...and doxie was there too of course.

tomorrow is one of the other great parts about this summer.

san francisco.

fabulous five.

yes.

(the fabulous five includes myself, matt, trey, jeff and scott)

time flies...

i'm always amazed at how quickly time can slip away...

since my last bloggy i had easter, finals (don't worry. i aced them), a long trip home, and i've started an amazing summer.

first things first.
easter this year was spent in rexburg. so my rexburg family and i decided we would make a big party out of it. we had make-shift easter baskets (mine was my rainboot) and drew names to be the easter bunny. liz and i woke up super early and secretly hid tons and tons of eggs in our apartment so when everyone woke up it was like the easter bunny really came! it was so great :) plus, it was conference! it doesn't get any better than that.
we also dyed eggs
had another easter egg hunt
ate lots of candy
made scones
listened to the prophet
had a sleepover
talked about boys (duh.)
made a big easter dinner
and just loved having time together.


(notice that liz's basket was a box of captain crunch. hahaha so good.)

it was the best easter EVER!


then i spent two nights in provo on my way home...i was in no hurry. besides, i got to see jeff and matt and stay with my most favorite cousin. good times.






















now, i am home. luckily...i love home :)



p.s. i also updated my other blog...you can check it out if you wanna. or not. whateve.

eye dee hoe

these boys came to visit me this weekend :)

don't they just look so excited?

i love them

basically...it was the best thing ever. sometimes i have a hard time with two different lives colliding...but not this time. it was super fun! we had a flour war, sang to billy and michael, ate things, played frisbee, had a bonfire and delicious hot shmoes, went to church, talked, took pictures....good things :)

hopefully they got to see a little bit of why i LOVE this place so much!




p.s. i only have a week left! what the? when did that happen?

Traffic School

so....remember how I got a ticket?
well, in order to keep that blasted ticket from going on my record, I am taking Idaho's online traffic school.

oh joy.

it is rather boring and time consuming but...I have to do it. Anyway, this is a direct quote from my current favorite past time. (don't be fooled. it is NOT my favorite.)

"To show you the magnitude of the highway death rate, here is a comparison. During a 10-year period when the United States was in Vietnam, about 58,000 of our servicemen were killed there. During that same period, 546,497 persons were killed here in the United States by the automobile, averaging 54,000 fatalities per year."

isn't that crazy? that kind of blew my mind.
i'm a big fan of being involved in the world and world peace and all of that crapola but sometimes i feel like we are so worried about what goes on internationally that we don't pay attention to problems that are happening in our own country. but maybe that's just me.

blog blog bloggy

here's the thing.

i've chosen a career. therefore, i have to actually take it seriously. :)


sooo...i'm announcing the launch of my brand spankin new photography and design blog.
it is still a work in progress...just a baby blog. so any constructive critism (or nonconstructive i suppose) is appreciated.

check it out - www.caseyjphoto.blogspot.com




p.s. i watched The Ring for the first time last night....BAD IDEA

Fulfill and Magnify

Remember that time when everyone gets a calling in college? Actually, that's a lie. I didn't have one last semester (which was a good thing)

But, this semester I totally got a calling! I got called by my stake to do indexing. Every week after church, I go to the family history lab and do 2 hours on the family search website thing. This week was my second official week and ya know what? I love it. Two of my other roommates got called too, so we just have a blast! And it's perfect because it doesn't stress me out during the week :)


I think the process is amazing! It is completely inspired...there have already been times when I felt there was no way I could read the crazy swirly handwriting and then, all of a sudden, the name just pops into my head. Then one of the cute old ladies reassures me that I was prompted by the Holy Ghost so I could figure out the name. Those women are the best. They can read anything.

One of my favorite things is to talk to my roommate Kelle about all of the funny names and families we come across.

Today was the craziest one yet.

Ollie Green was 28. Married to 59 year old Frank Green.
Married for 14 years.
8 children.

I'm sure you've already done the math, but that means that Ollie got married at 14 to a 45 year old! She had her first baby at 15 and then had 7 more within 12 years.

I couldn't believe it.


This just made me SO grateful that I was not living in 1910. I think the Lord knew that I wasn't made for that kind of life. Thank goodness. I'm totally fine with leaving marriage at 14 up to women like Ollie Green. More power to ya Ollie.