One last hurrah!

Well, we're down to our last two days of our summer adventure. And what a crazy ride it's been! We decided to have a little fun for our last weekend in town and went to the beach yesterday. I didn't really want to go at first but I'm glad Ian talked me into it, because it was so great! We drove about 70 miles from our apartment in Mission to South Padre Island. It's the same island as the beaches in Corpus where on, but just further down. I really loved the beaches in Corpus, but the water was really mucky and was usually full of seaweed. I guess I didn't know any better... The southern end of the island had perfect sand and clear blue water. It was absolutely beautiful, and a perfect way to end our time in Texas.

Driving over the bridge on our way to The Island.

After a swim.

Out in the waves

There were these little burrows all over the sand in the water.
We tried  to dig a few up, but didn't find what was in there.
We probably killed whatever it was in the process... Oops...

Picture perfect beach scene.

Further down the Island

Some little kids nearby built this cool sand castle.

These little tiny shells were everywhere! I thought they were cute.
PS We took this picture with Ian's phone. Great camera, don't you think?

Gorgeous Texas sunset

I love evenings on the beach.

SYTYCD

I didn't watch this season, but now I'm kind of wishing I had... I love when a dance is so captivating you can't look away or really even blink. That's how I felt while watching this. Also, the judges comments were HILARIOUS!

Bring him home

If you've seen Les Mis and didn't cry when Jean Valjean sang this song, you have no soul. I like this rendition a lot. I think both Jon Schmidt and Steve Nelson are SO talented and have such a unique gift to be able to put a modern spin on classics like this one and revive them for a whole new generation. Plus, they're both just good ol' down-to-earth Mormon boys. I'm mostly posting it here so I'll be able to find it later if I want to listen to it, but please enjoy!

Last day of school!

It's the end of summer semester and I got a 4.0 (I think)!!!! Yay!!!

oh wait...


Fall semester starts in 3 weeks....


Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

One more semester and I'm ready to apply for Nursing school. HOLY COW! I can't even believe it myself. I've fought this school thing tooth and nail. Seriously, ask Ian. He has to give me a pep talk at least bi-weekly. My main struggle has been convincing myself that I should do this when I'm in such a good place right now. I have a GREAT job, which I absolutely love, and it's hard to have the perspective about school that I need to be successful. With my friends all getting ready to graduate and my track record with school, it's hard not to feel like the opportunity hasn't already passed me by, or that I'll never get there.

But, I distinctly remember talking to my mom when I was driving home from school one day, just talking about my classes, and I said, "I guess that's what happens when you finally get on the path the Lord wants you to be on." I could barely finish my sentence because I was so overwhelmed with the conformation of how true what I had just said was. I just wish it wasn't so hard to REMEMBER that. The other thing I realized (after Ian's most recent pep talk) is that I'm not just doing this for me. I'm doing this to benefit my husband and our future family. I'm sharing the load with my husband and giving him the assurance that if a situation were to arise when he wouldn't be able to provide for our family, he has an educated wife with the ability to take the reins. I'm abandoning my selfish desires and allowing myself to be molded into the person I'm supposed to be. So, yeah, I'm still resisting, but slowly and surely I'll get there.

Words to live by for the day

"You will find that somewhere between setting and reaching a goal, you’ll end up in the muck and mire of the arena of life. That’s when you have to increase your persistence. Don’t change the goal. Don’t say, “The goal wasn’t good because I have manure on my boots.” Don’t say, “I must not be capable of reaching that goal.” Say, “I’ve got to work harder, try harder, get up earlier, study harder, go to church more, pray harder, follow the principles of the gospel.” Be persistent. Then you will reach those goals and find yourself becoming the person you imagine yourself to be." -KIETH MERRILL

Read the rest of his article here. Seriously, do it. It's really good.