seeing old friends & making new ones.

this past week was Thanksgiving break :)
it was fantastic!
probably one of the best breaks i've had yet.
one of the best things about breaks is that people come home from college!
i got to hang out with a few of my very good friends from last year.
robby lee, brian vawdry, jeff nelson, and richard flores :)
it was great to see what they are doing and how they have changed.
also to see how they are the same.
people are great :)
really great.

Anyways,
i also have been making new friends this past little while.
isn't it weird, that you can see someone in the hall everyday for years,
and never even think anything of it,
and then they can turn out to be one of your greatest friends?
there's so many wonderful people around us!
just as Sister Dalton says,
"every person you meet can enrich your life"
all we have to do is open up our mouths and say "hello" :)

I've been having a bit of a rough go these past few weeks or so,
and all i can say is i'm grateful for missionaries!
i emailed my brother last night (today is his p-day)
and he wrote me back today the most amazing letter!
just what i needed.
that seems to happen to me a lot. :)

my name is laura, and i am so blessed. :)

love, laura

and today i feel.

today i feel grateful.

probably because i had seminary first period and we talked about gratitude.

probably because thanksgiving is this week.

and probably because i am finally on break. :)

but i'm just simply grateful.

i have every reason in the world to lift my head up and smile.

and that's actually all i have to say today.

love, laur

for hannah kroes.

yesterday hannah and i went for a drive.

i love people like hannah.

i was feeling sad and i texted her and said "hannah, you inspire me. let's talk on thursday"

she said

"ok perfect :)"

and it changed my life.

we're now a team.

so i feel kind of like we can change the world.

Lately i am so amazed by how many amazing people i know.

i am so blessed.

here's a few of my greatest blessings..

I'm so grateful for Hannah and her strength. She makes me happy :) what a blessing she is.

i'm so grateful for Jamie Szabo. she makes me laugh. really laugh. and she's my best friend. she makes me want to be better. and she gives me hope that one day i'll find a husband hahaha love you J :)

i'm so grateful for hannah denney. what an amazing girl. with hannah i can dance ;) and she may know more about me than nearly anyone. that's a very good possibility actually. and i know i can tell her anything.

i'm so grateful for ari kokol. really i don't know where i'd be without her. at least once a week i show up at her house uninvited and stay till the wee hours of the morning complaining about my pathetic teenage life. and she stays with me. she even pulls over when i need to barf on the side of the road after my heart is broken. i do that sometimes...thanks r :)

i'm so grateful for mikelle pyne. we'll live by each other someday. and we'll have children who will be friends. and we'll still save each other every day. won't that be nice? yes. she also gives me rides home from school. and lets me use her phone number to vent to all the time. i love mikelle.

i'm so grateful for shelbie shill. she played me the piano and sang to me on a very sad day. she also let me try and beat her gameboy color. i didn't succeed. but it was very nice of her.

i'm so grateful for natalie cameron. she's my kindred spirit. and she does the nicest things for everyone.

i'm grateful for tori mason. she's a new friend. but i feel like we've been friends forever :) she lets me sit next to her on the bench seat in her car. :D

i'm grateful for janene paulsen. she went with me to the movie :) our brothers are mission companions. and we'll probably be sisters through marriage someday? yeah.

i'm so grateful for whitney mcclleland (sorry not sure how to spell it). she is fantastic. and a hoot :) and sometimes i think we're a lot alike :)

i'm so grateful for bre brunt. what an amazing human. in every way :) one day she'll be my nurse and deliver my children...awkward. but true.

i'm grateful for tiffany palmer. she's wonderful. and i wish her every happiness. :) she makes me laugh so hard.

i'm grateful for my mama. she's amazing. in every way. for real.

i'm grateful for all my family, and for anyone else i missed :) i'll put you in later. i just don't want this post to be too long.

and it already is.

so i guess i'll leave it there.

love, laura

sometimes,

sometimes,

i've been having one of those days,

when you wake up and you feel kind of only 1/3 of the way full,

which isn't right.

anyways,

have you ever thought something was so real and so right,

(and maybe you still think it is)

and then you realize that someone thinks it was all just a mistake.

it kinda makes you feel empty,

a lot.

i don't know what else to say about that,

and it probably doesn't make sense,

but i had to let that out.

so thanks :)

but that's the amazing thing about time.

time and a little faith can fix anything.

that's not true, it takes A LOT of faith.

but it does work :)

...

yesterday afternoon i was so lucky to go to the Harry Potter movie.

it really moved me!

i can't really say why, but movies really affect me.

a lot.

and as you all know, it was only part 1 of the last book,

another thing you should know about me?

i almost never read the book if i know a movie is coming out,

no, it's not that i don't like to read

i do. i really do.

but when i read? i have to put my whole heart in it! like i need to be stuck in my room with nothing to do but read the book till its done.

i dream about them and everything.

and breathe them too.

that's why the twilight series consumed my summer last summer.

yeah.

anyways...

i've been dying. because

i have not read ANY of the Harry Potter books.

i know! awful right?

it's always been part of my plans? someday when i get time to put my heart and soul and dreams into it.

and i still plan on it! someday.

but now someday is going to have to be tomorrow.

because i am absolutely dying because i have no idea what happens to everyone.

and now i'm dreaming and breathing the movie.

and that's not right.

i have other things to think about!

so. if anyone has the 7th book. PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!

thanks.

love, laura

just thoughts.

a few thoughts on my head.

1) thank you everyone for supporting me in my blogging journey. it's been a rough go so far, as far as making it what i want it to be..but? i'm getting there. It's a journey. I have a lot of people encouraging me (whitney, hannah, ari..to name a few. Also, my jamie. she is going through the blogging journey as well). thanks girls.

2) dear laura,

i'm senioritis.

and i came to eat you.

3) Christmas is coming! and i know you might hate me...but christmas music has indeed taken over my main flow of music these days.

come on people, the season is too short to save it till after thanksgiving. right? :)

also?

tori mason may have made me fall in love with snow.

4) my brother comes home from his mission in june.

i can't wait.

really i can't.

5) temple day is today! once a week me and jamie go to the temple and it is always the best day of the week :)

lately, Mt. Timp has been closed. :( but we've been broadening our horizons and trying other ones out. it's quite the adventure so far.

you should come with us sometime :)

but..we listen to taylor swift the whole time.

both ways.

so.. i hope that's ok with you.

6) finally found my passion for the jazz last night.

it was a weird experience.

almost spiritual. ;)

My dearest friend steven clarke is the number one fan.

so? i took him to a game for his birthday.

and, it changed my life.

we had a good time, even though they lost.

he's a cool guy, steven clarke. and also jamie and michael and justin and angela. who accompanied us.

love, laur

preference. with parker farnsworth.

saturday night was preference.

it was magical :)

if you don't know parker farnsworth? you should.

he's fantastic.

a few years ago i was going through the hardest time,

parker farnsworth saved my life.

a few weeks ago i got some poop stuff on my hands from the grodey benches in the lunchroom,

parker farnsworth got me some paper towels and stood by me while i tried to wash it off in the drinking fountain.

i didn't feel like opening the door for myself on saturday,

parker farnsworth took care of it :)

one day i wanted to learn how to drive stick shift,

parker farnsworth took me to the cemetery to learn.

parker farnsworth likes basketball.

parker farnsworth has a laugh that makes his eyes squint and his shoulders shake.

parker farnsworth is good at driving four wheelers.

parker farnsworth makes you happy when you are sad. or when you're already happy.

last but not least?

parker farnsworth is an animal.