so i went to vegas

gary allan. pbr. the strip. my favorite aunts & uncle & cousins.

best weekend ever.

hillbilly deluxe.

so, it's summertime here in logan. 

that means that everyone is gone except for this kid right here. 

his name is stephen. i guarantee you'll see a lot more of him in the coming months. 

he's become my best friend these last three weeks & i am so grateful for him. with the mess my life has been the lately i probably would have lost my mind already without him.

its become a nightly ritual to make dinner, then go up the canyon somewhere, to hike, go shooting, night kayaking, driving, or something else fun, mess around outside for a few hours, and then sit in the bed of his truck for a few hours and talk until it's time for me to go to work. 

i'm kinda stoked to see what the rest of the summer holds. if the first three weeks can be the best three weeks of summer i've ever had, then i guarantee the rest of the season is gonna be epic. 

xoxo

jessica

days like today, you wanna make em last.

i have the greatest friends ever. i love it when colton calls randomly and we go out and ride around 50 acre pastures for hours at a time. i love my abs being sore because i've laughed so hard at the stupid things we find funny. i love logan. i love the cowboys i've been hanging out with lately. i love going to roping jackpots and checking out all the guy's butts. i love my new apartment and my sweet, beautiful roommates. i just love my life.

oh hey there, blog.

i didn't forget about blogging. promise.

i've been beyond busy with my suddenly hopping social life, the beginnings of a relationship, finals, and moving. but don't worry. i'm back :) get ready for a bombardment of posts, blogosphere.

xoxo
jessica

we like bonfires.

i love bonfires. i don't know why it's taken us so stinkin long to drive up that canyon and burn some pallets. after 45 minutes of trying to get that fricken wood to burn, we got a nice blaze going, with some awesome girls and guys. this was the second all nighter i've pulled in a row, and honestly i don't know how i keep my sanity. especially because our fire lasted until 4am. haha. it was a blast and a half. ohhhh college. it's a good time.

xox

jessica

spontaneity.

i love being spontaneous. and rebellious.
lately, that has meant dying my hair the darkest possible brown before black, taking road trips at 2am to wyoming and back, piercing ears in my bathroom, pranks, dares, and extreme sassiness, random trips to provo to go on blind dates and see my best friend... you get the idea.

my life is so much fun.

muddin.

i love these two kids so much. lauren makes me laugh so hard i want to pee my pants and jason is there for good talks, advice and for his knowledge of all the good places to go muddin in cache valley. today we went and ran my truck through this little (and by little i mean not so little) mud puddle today. it was so needed, that thing has been way too clean for way too long. 

i don't know how you city kids keep your sanity. 

mud is so much fun. 

xoxo  

jessica :)

life is so good.

well, my classes are getting ready to wrap up, the summer is well on it's way, i'm moving in with my best friends in less than a month, i get to see horses every day, &i love my job.

i'm not especially stressed or worried about events that are going down in my life because there's absolutely no reason to be.  things will work out the way that god wants them to, and so there's no reason to be all depressed about it. that doesn't mean that life isn't hard, because sometimes it is, and sometimes it sucks, but i don't feel the need to change the way i lead my life just because i'm going through a rough patch. theres no reason to be sad or beg for sympathy or whatever. ya feel me?

 plus, i have an amazing support system. i have some freaking awesome friends that i know would drop anything and everything to come and help me. so, thank you to those who have expressed their support and concern for me over the past few days but i just know that i am doing really really well right now. i am happy & life is so good.

xoxo 

jessica :)

and then i remember why i'm not a roper.

i am not very good at roping. at all. as in zero. 

i think it's a blast, and i love it, but i'm really not good at it.

that's okay though, i'll sit on the horses while everyone else ropes any day :)

xoxo

jessica :)

general conference: april 2013.

i was so lucky to get tickets to conference this session with one of my best friends in the world. 

it's incredible the things that God can tell you through his prophets. this conference was really meaningful to me, because i'm at the point in my life where i really have to decide what i want & what direction my faith is going to take. i can't explain the relief i felt at some points of this conference when one of the speakers would say something that just solidified my choices. kinda awesome, huh?

especially this quote. so perfect. 

to learn more about the general conference of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, click here. 

xoxox

jessica :)

the time i went third wheeling...

just kidding. i wasn't actually a third wheel. but i liked the title, i thought it was clever.

going into the mountains and going shooting is probably my favorite thing ever. 

big thanks to jake. it was a blast.

happy easter.

 

i love easter. after christmas, it's my favorite holiday.

 

this year was really, really hard for me. i made a lot of mistakes and went through miles and miles of hard times. this easter marks a year from the time my family was uprooted & my life was turned upside down, and so i have a certain tenderness and appreciation for this time of year. i love what easter is all about. it's not about a new dress to wear to church, or a fun easter basket with spring colored nail polish & lots of jelly beans and easter eggs. it's about recognizing Christ's sacrifice and resurrection and renewing our lives & being thankful for Him.

 

some people think it's a little crazy to put all your faith into someone who supposedly saved the entire human race. but you know what? i belive in Him. I have a relationship with him. 

because He did save us.

and i know he did.

 

how do i know?

i've prayed about it. i've read the scriptures and asked heavenly father to know if Jesus really was who we say He is. i've talked with my church leaders, my mom & dad, grandparents, friends, aunts and uncles, basically anyone who would talk to me about my questions. and i received an answer.

to me, Christ is more than a spiritual leader who taught people moral lessons two thousand years ago. to me, Christ is my personal redeemer. He suffered beyond what anyone imagined was possible. He was ridiculed and mocked and ultimately killed, because He knew what his purpose was. He was laid in a tomb after his crucifixion, and then three days later, He walked out perfectly alive and with a perfect body.

because He suffered for you and i, because He suffered death, we can live again.

this year especially means a lot to me because i have had too many friends & family members pass away this year, and knowing i can see them again and that they are still with me gives me so much comfort. it's hard when someone you've been friends with for years and years suddenly be gone. its a harsh reality. they were all my age, went to high school with me, i laughed and went on dates and parties with these guys. in some cases, it's my friends siblings. it's beyond what was expected but it's alright in the end. He lives. He is a living witness that death can be overcome. it is so wonderful to know that we can see those we love who have passed on again- because of the wonderful gift that our older brother gave us.

we can become perfect because He suffered for us. He loves us, and i am so grateful for Him.

 

6 reasons i didn't text you back.

to those of you that have been complaining lately that i'm bad at texting... this post is for you.

6 reasons i didn't text you back:

1. i think you're annoying.
this really is unlikely in most situations. but, if you text me "hey" like four times in a row without me responding, get a clue. no duh i'm not going to text you back. plus, unless we're good friends and you text me "just to talk" you can just accept that i probably won't text you back. if you really want to talk to me just call me.

2. i'm lazy.
i read your text, and thinking up a response or typing "haha yeah" is way more energy than i'm willing to expend at the moment.

3. i texted you back in my head and forgot to actually type it out.
this happens really often. it pisses my mom & best friends off, and i promise i'm not actually ignoring you. i probably set my phone down to wash a dish, or fill up my water bottle, or drive somewhere, and forgot to type what i meant to text to you. i have a one track mind. sorry.

4. you're hard to text/this conversation is boring.
i was talking to a guy for a while and literally we had the same conversation every single day. like really it was a struggle for me to come up with things to talk about with him. plus. i hate getting to know people over text message. really, we should just hang out. it's better that way. if you don't use emojis or smileys or full sentences or actually put some effort into this, i'm not going to waste time on you. so your one or two word texts just aren't cutting it.

5. the conversation was over.
if we're trading one word texts and i'm tempted to just say "k" or something, i'm just not gonna text you back.

6. i'm just busy. 
believe it or not, between a full time job, 17 credits and other responsibilities, i'm a really busy girl. if i don't text you back, i'm probably in class or working or being studious or something like that. dont take it personally.

sun & pickup trucks

i especially love days like today.

in the pre-vet & equine programs, there's an awesome sense of camaraderie. i've only known most of them for less than a year, but i'm going to be with them for the next five or six. we're all so different, from all over the nation, but we all have a common purpose. we're here to help animals, and by extension, help their owners. working with people on farms really brings you together. today i was talking to a guy in one of my classes and he said "you know jess, i'd trust you to stitch me up if i had a really bad gash and i couldn't make it to a hospital." haha what a compliment, huh?  i trust these guys & girls more than anyone. i mean, we let each other drive each other's trucks... thats like the highest form of trust. they've got my back & i love them. 

the sun today was so incredibly needed. i forgot what it was like to get in your car and having to roll the windows down because it's hot inside, or to be walking around classes and get too warm with a sweatshirt on. it's kinda awesome. hey spring. you should stick around for a while. :)

xoxo

jessica :)

confessions galore.

i'm really quite vain. i like taking pictures of myself and i like it when people take pictures of me. i like wearing makeup & fixing my hair, even though it doesn't happen most days. 

sometimes i really like listening to chris brown, pitbull, jason derulo, usher, ke$ha & dare i say it, britney spears. i'm almost disgusted with myself. but do i care? no, not especially.

when i study, i eat cold cereal & drink either diet coke or raspberry lemonade crystal light.

i love snapchat. i think it's the funniest thing since... well... i just think it's super entertaining. i mean whats not to love? i get to send pictures of myself to my friends and they do the same to me. i'd rather snapchat than text.

i seriously have to restrain myself when it comes to macaroni and cheese. why is that crap so dang good?? it takes a ton of willpower to not eat two whole boxes my myself. (it's happened before.)

my little jaunt as a brunette was fun but i'm ready to be blonde again.

i'm supposed to be writing a paper... um. yeah.


so that's all for today.
i hope you all have an awesome evening/morning/afternoon/whatever.
xoxox
jessica :)