EVERYTHING MUST GO!!! MOVING SALE!!

We're moving home at the end of the month and everything must go! Everything is best offer!

All shirts are XL

Mens pants. Sizes from left to right: 38/30,38/30, 38/32, 36/30, 40/30, 36/30, 36/30

Free with purchase 

Size Large

All size large

Free with purchase

Skirt is Large, pants size 16 Old Navy

Size 9 1/2

HD Tube TV. 24 inch screen

Comfy couch. Some wear.

Like I said, everything is best offer. For the couch and TV, you must be able to pick it up, our car is too small to fit them. We live in Sugar City just behind the Walmart. Call 208-206-6033 if interested!

Holy Wedding, I'm Getting Married

Yep, you read it! I'm totally getting married. You all probably know this because I have most likely sent you an announcement. And if I haven't don't be offended. It's cause I don't like you. JUST KIDDING!! It's cause I probably don't have your address or anyway to get it from you. Or I have asked you for it and you haven't had the chance to give it to me. Sorry!

But anyway, I'm marrying Alex Ripley.

He's in my stake and he's awesome. Just the right guy for me.

You know, I was never really fond of the saying "Stop chasing and you'll get caught" and I came back from school not expecting to meet anyone new. I figured I'd just have some fun, try and find a fun job and save up for school. I always figured the reason I went to Idaho was so that I could meet my husband. Lo and behold, I was so wrong. I went to Idaho so I'd be ready to meet my husband. And let me tell you: he's perfect for me. I really couldn't have picked a better companion. I guess you could say my testimony in my patriarchal blessing has been strengthened. Just when I thought the Lord had forgotten about His promises to me, He shows me that He hasn't. I am such a lucky girl!

So, the date is set! July the 3rd! 8 days from now I'll be Mrs. Alex Ripley. Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I feel like just yesterday I was commenting on how it was 25 days till we tied the knot. And now it's only 8. When did that happen? I'm glad that it did, tho. Because when it was still 40 days out, I was dying. 

Plans are coming along smoothly, for once. I feel like during this whole planning things kept going wrong. But, in then all that matters is that we're married for time and all eternity. Seriously. I kept getting stressed out about things and Alex kept reminding me that that's what's important. And it helped. I was watching earlier today the movie 17 Miracles. And part of the story is a love story. It's probably one of the best love stories I've ever heard. Even better than Romeo and Juliet. All through out the movie, the line "It will all be worth it in the end" kept coming up. And really, it will ALL be worth it in the end. I sent Alex a text telling him how grateful I am for his desire to be married in the temple. Because really, anything less than forever is unacceptable and frankly, just not enough. 

It's so hard to wrap my head around changing my last name. Literally my whole life I have been a Knight. I don't want to say it's my identity, but it's a big chunk of it. I couldn't be happier to change it for this reason. To start a new family and be with one person for the rest of forever. But... I've always been Auvie Knight. And now suddenly I have to be Auvie Ripley. I guess I've never really prepared myself for such a change. I'm glad I get to do it, but still. It's crazy.

I'm so happy.

Holi Festival of Colors

Well, for those of you who don't know, the Festival of Colors is an Indian festival that celebrates their... FASHION. You heard me. Fashion. It celebrates the colors they wear. I guess. But, it's pretty much a party that BYU kids go to and throw colored powders at each other. It's way fun.

Sadie, Courtney, Jake, Dan, Madi, and I all piled in Sadie's car and made the vary long, arduous drive down to Spanish Fork, Utah. It was a long drive. I mean, LONG, drive. There was traffic, so it made the one hour drive into a two hour drive. With four people crammed in the back seat that was meant for two and a half.

When we got there, we had to walk about two miles to the temple. On the way there, this happened:

Before the Color Throwing

Sadie, Dan, Madi

People coming back from the festival had left over color and would throw it at as when they walked by. It was fun when we weren't getting it thrown in our eyes. We finally made it through the masses and found our way to the color station to buy our colors. This place was PACKED.

Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple

We ran into a lot of people we knew and made some new friends even. Kids were everywhere and there were more Mormons there than at General Conference... OK, maybe just as many as at General Conference. We danced, threw powder, and laughed. And then, before we turned brown from all the colors, we left and took our extra powder with us. The walk back was just as eventful, except that WE were throwing the powder. We finally got back to the car and we looked like this:

Madi and Dan

It was great. I'm so glad that I went. I got to see Madi one last time before August and I got to know my roommates a little better. The trip was long but worth it in the end. It was a wonderful way to start finals and end the semester. Now I'm totally ready to come home.

Anger and the Atonement

Tonight while stadium singing I was filled with this intense hatred. It was so overwhelming it made my eyes water and my whole body shake. I haven't felt like that in a long time. In fact, this time was a lot stronger than last. And I don 't really know why. I mean, I got over being mad at everything and everyone. I was happy. I have the gospel and a family that loves me. I have amazing friends. What reason do I have to be angry? to have such hatred in my heart?
Usually when I go stadium singing, I go with some of my closest friends, a few of which are guys. And it's us, this group. Not pairs. Just a big group of friends. And it's the best. It's not awkward to be the single one. It's fun to go and sing praises to Heavenly Father and feel the Spirit and know you're amongst friends. But this week, my friends brought dates. I was the single one. I was alone. And it was so clear in my mind why and who was to blame. And that's why the hatred came. The uncontrolled anger. It swept over me like wild fire.
I wanted to run away and cry. I was so ashamed at myself for feeling this way. I had no right to feel this way. I put those feelings away long ago, never to be seen again. And yet here they were, right in front of me. Mocking me.
For so long last year I was mad at Greg for breaking my heart. For making me feel worthless and unwanted. But I forgave him. I decided that it was in MY hands if I was worthless and unwanted, not his. I was free of my anger and hatred for him. But tonight it came rushing back. Seeing my friends all dating and happy while I felt alone and lost. Like a puppy abandoned on the side of the road. Or like Woody and Buzz in Toy Story 3. I felt like no one wanted me and I blamed Greg for that. I blamed him for "breaking" me. As if it were his fault I'm not dating; his fault all of my friends are happy and all couple-y and I'm not. As if he broke me and there was no coming back from it. I haven't felt that way in a VERY long time. I was caught off guard.
And then we sang Be Still My Soul and the words hit me hard and cracked the marble slab of anger and hatred. I'm not alone. I've never been alone. Christ has ALWAYS been with me, even in my darkest hour. He's the light that warms my heart and comforts me.
Sometimes I forget that the Atonement isn't just about repenting. It's about pain and anger and sorrow and joy. Christ knows exactly how I'm feeling because when he was in Gethsemane he took on everything I would go through in all of my life. I always kinda pictured his time in Gethsemane as him trying to hold a big boulder on his shoulders. But now I think of it more as a line of people waiting to dump everything on him. I was in that line. He took my burdens on himself. He knows. That's what the Atonement is about. Christ helping us, being with us even when we feel the most alone. That song and that reminder couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Heavenly Father's way of reminding me that He's always here. 
I'm still angry. I still hate everything. But, I know that in the morning, that anger will be gone. Replaced with God's love for me. I don't know how many more times I'll have to feel like this. How many more times I'll have to turn to Heavenly Father for help; to know that I am wanted; that I'm not worthless.
In the end, God loves me. My family loves me. I have the gospel. I should be happy. The choice in mine to make. Happy or angry? I think I'll be happy.

Week One

Well, this week has been interesting. It starts off on New Years Eve. That was such a fun night! Seth, Morgan, Chris, Jimmy, Breanna, and Marcus all came over and we partied it up! We went and planked a few places, we went to a dance, and then we came home to Madi's and played Wii and hat charades. It was a blast! Totally took my mind off things. We were up till about 5, slept for an hour, woke up at 6 to see Morgan and Seth off (they had to go back to Idaho to go to church because Morgan was suppose to see some people) and then went back to sleep at 7 only to wake up at 8:30 to take me to SLC to meet up with Clawson. Then I stayed with the Clawson's Sunday to Monday and at 4am we hit the road to come back to Rexburg. Geeze. I had maybe four whole hours of sleep between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. But let me just say: totally worth it.

On Monday I didn't have much to do because all of my stuff besides my clothes were at Jedi's and they were still in California and I didn't have a key. So as I piddled my thumbs trying to think of what to do, I decided to go over and visit my old friends in Academy Apartments (where I use to live). Eventually, I got bored because we were just watching TV, so I went down stairs to see if apt 5 had any games we could play. They didn't have any but they said that the new guys in apt 1 (my old apt) had games. Sooo, I went over there. And made new friends. And they're cute. And friendly. And fun. So yeah, what a good way to start the semester:)

My classes today were pretty cool. One of my classes was cancelled, so that was cool. Kind of annoying because it's the first day of class. But whatever. I have one class tomorrow: science. It shouldn't be too bad. This semester shouldn't be too bad. My teachers seem fun. The kids in my classes seem nice. So yeah.

Buh-Bye 2011, Hello 2012!

Finally, this hellish year is over! And yes, hellish is how I'd explain it.

The beginning of the year seems so long ago. I've changed so much! I've lost friends, found friends, and made friends... Yes.. Made friends. Out of paper.. It was a low point for me. 

Here are some things that happened:

I fell in love. That was fun. While it lasted. My first love. And from it I learned about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of person I want to spent the rest of forever with. It wasn't a complete fail of a relationship. It taught me what love it all about. It also taught me that I can trust someone, even when I shouldn't. 

I got a real job. Not that working at the pawn shop wasn't a legit job, but this one just seems more legit.. Probably because I actually worked. And I drove myself to and from. And had work friends that weren't at church on Sunday. I'm not going to lie, as hard as being a maid is, it had it's fun parts. I made some really good memories and friends. The ladies I worked with are in a league of their own and it was great to be a part of it. I got to learn about hard work and sticking it out to the end. And honestly, it's probably the best job I could have had over the summer. 

I came back to school. It was a tough decision. But seriously, a wise one. As much as I love Alabama and all of my friends and family there, I couldn't see my life going anywhere there. I needed to get out and what better place to go to than a church school where I can feel the Spirit all around me. I get to go to the temple every week. Have FHE with fellow students. Have awesome roommates. Meet amazing people and learn from some awesome teachers. It's hard sometimes. And really lame. But the highs are the highest and the lows aren't even that low. I love it and I couldn't be happier to have come back.

Madi and Katie

Katie and Jessie.. The Hobbits

Katie

Michael and Janessa

Colten

Me and Madi eating a delicious crepe made by Jimmy

Michael and Katie and their disgusting fruit casserole thing

We finished the puzzle!

The Handy Man:)

I made some awesome friends. Now, the friends I had in 2010 were great. But they didn't make it very far into 2011. The ones I have now will last a lifetime.. And then some. I love them. They teach me so much about myself and the gospel. We've had some serious gospel discussions just because in our apartment and it's been wonderful. I love being able to just share my testimony and not get funny looks. We have had the most wonderful conversations about life, love, church, school, boys.. Everything! It's been the best semester and just what I needed to come back to. I just hope that the people who have befriended me this year have benefited as much from me as I have from them. 

I ate bacon. Lots and lots of bacon. We did something called Epic Meal Time with some guys in our complex and it was awesome. Disgusting, but awesome. We made something called Fast Food Lasagna. It consists of hamburger, Baconators, bacon, and a Martinelli's/Jack Daniels BBQ sauce mixture. So good. But way too much meat.

Bacon Weave

Seth and the meat loaf about to go in the oven

Yum!

 

 

Finished product

And we made ginger bread houses and exchanged presents. That was super fun. The six of us were given Secret Santa assignments and the last day we were all together we made gingerbread houses and exchanged gifts and had so much fun. 

Charlie got a PeeWeee Giraffe Pillow Pet

I got the award for Awkward Neighbor. Th triangle and the outhouse are mine:)

Jessie's scary Santa

I took this at the same time Madi used her camera and it looks like the house is on fire.

Madi, the gingerbread house queen

Left to right: Al, Evan

Our awesome houses

Our tree and fireplace. Presents and sticks and all

My "outhouse"

Too Much!

So for Christmas, I came down to Utah with two of my most favorite roommates, Katie and Madi. I stayed with Katie in Orem this whole week, and then today (Friday) I came to Madi's house, where I'll be until January or so. Not really sure. I have a bed waiting for me in Sandy, and I just might use it. We'll see.
Katie Jensen. What can I say about her? She's fabulous.We got to her house kinda late on Saturday, mostly because we went to a Jazz game as soon as we got into Orem. Sunday, we went to church and then took some amazing Sunday naps by her fire place. We ate dinner and then watched Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers until about 1 am. It's the extended version, so it was about 5 hours long. Two discs. Amazing. We finally got into bed and slept in. Katie was up at 10:30 and I rolled out of bed at 11:30. We made some delicious breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, and toast, and then watched a movie. Wanna guess? Lord of the Rings:Return of the King. Extended, again. So that was another 5 hours. Then we went shopping for Christmas presents for her family and let me just say, we got some awesome stuff. Jimmy texted and invited us to a movie, so we went out with him. We actually ended up missing our movie and decided to go back to the house and watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's a pretty funny movie. Around 1, again, the movie was over, Jimmy left, and we hit the sack.
On Tuesday, we woke up, made another delicious breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and then sat down to watch TV. I'm pretty sure we were going to make a video, but Katie ended up falling asleep, so I went downstairs and watched... Dun Dun Dun.. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Extended, of course:) I hadn't seen it yet, so I wanted to watch it and see all the cool extra stuff. When I finished the first disk (about 4 hours) Katie was waking up from her nap. Then we worked on a puzzle and watched some movies. Oh, we also stayed up super late and made paper snowflakes and then strung them on some fish wire and hung it across the living room. It looked like snow flakes were falling form the ceiling, like in Harry Potter in the Great Hall. It was so awesome, and so worth staying up till almost 4 am.
Wednesday, we didn't do much. We went to the mall with Kaite's mom and her brother's girlfriend to Christmas shop. After that, we were worn out! So we took a short nap. Then Jimmy came over and we went to Target to make a video for Katie's sister's Christmas present. We interviewed a bunch of random people about Janina, Katie's sister. It was hilarious, because none of these people knew Janina and they just made up their answers. After getting kicked out of Target, we went to Shopko and Smith's. I'd say it was a pretty successful and fun night. But it doesn't end there. Of course we came back to Katie's and watched Adjustment Bureau. Such a good movie. Love Matt Damon. The best part: Jimmy fell asleep. So we messed with him. We took eye liner and drew a very French mustache on him, goatee included. And then when the movie was over we tried waking him up. Like.. 20 times. No Lie. He kept falling back asleep. And when we did eventually get him to get his shoes on and stand up, he was so totally out of it. I was scared for him to drive all the way back to Murray! That's a long drive! But, after a good laugh at him, some ice down his shirt, and some water on his face, he was finally out the door. I've never had more fun waking someone up than I did just then. Finally Katie and I were able to go to bed and I sure wanted to.
Thursday I went to breakfast with a good friend of mine from Alabama, Elizabeth. It was nice to get together with her, as I haven't seen her in over a year. After breakfast, I went home and napped. I was so tired! When Katie got home from lunch with her mom, we continued to nap. Once we woke up, we ate some dinner and then worked on another puzzle. This one was hard because the pieces were all cut the same and the picture we were trying to form made it difficult to discern what piece went where. But, after three hours of hard work and one headache later, we finished it and called it a night.
Today we cleaned. I was leaving and Katie had family coming over, so we did laundry and cleaned up the living room and kitchen. Then we were off the SLC to meet up with Madi's parents. When I got to Madi's house in Kaysville, my friend Breanna came and got me (Madi was one her way back form California) and I went with her family to Temple Square to see the Christmas Lights. It was freezing but beautiful. Jimmy met us up there and we just cruised around town. We almost got to meet David Archuletta. Exciting. Not. Breanna is like in love with him, but I don't see the draw. Yeah, he can sing. Sure, he's pretty attractive. But he's famous. I've always kinda viewed famous people as untouchable. So I wasn't too let down when it turned out he wasn't home. (Back story: Jimmy use to work with David over the summer and I think their sisters are best friends, or something.) Then we finally made out way home. So here I am, 12:30 in the morning, waiting to go pick Madi up from the train station.
This week has worn me out! But, it was totally worth it. I'm totally glad I decided to come to Utah instead of staying in Rexburg alone.
Side note: There was this missionary that served in my ward back in Alabama a couple years ago, Broc Pendleton, who lives in Alpine, which is right next to Orem. Well, he was at the mall the same day I was and I totally spent like, ten minutes staring at him trying to decide if it was him, and he was doing the same. Small world!