Church emails are inspired!

Real quick- another story about prayer! 
Lately I have been feeling like my prayers aren't sincere enough. I feel like it's the same thing over and over again. But I just didn't know what else to pray for or about. So one night, I prayer to my Heavenly Father to help me make my prayers more sincere.
The answer came the next day. 
I get emails from the church every day with some kind of quote of scripture. 
The day after I had said that prayer I got the email that said this- 

"In reality, there aren’t many things in a day that are totally without significance. Even the mundane and repetitious can be tiny but significant building blocks that in time establish the discipline and character and order needed to realize our plans and dreams. Therefore, as you ask in prayer for your daily bread, consider thoughtfully your needs—both what you may lack and what you must protect against. As you retire to bed, think about the successes and failures of the day and what will make the next day a little better. And thank your Heavenly Father for the manna He has placed along your path that sustained you through the day."

Enough said I think ;) 

Lifesaver.

Prayer can be a literal lifesaver! I can't even explain to you how much I truly believed that- and believe it even more now. 

Our dog Sandee loves to get on the roof. My window doesn't have a screen and my nightstand is right next to it, so she can get out pretty easily if the window is open. 

Well on Thursday it was a super hot day. I'm saying like BLAZING hot! Sandee wanted to go out on the roof. I didn't want to let all the cool air out (lesson learned- I need to stop being so selfish), so I decided that I would just let her out there and then close the window, thinking- oh, I'll just let her back in in a little while. 

But guess what? Of course I forgot about her.

I then went shopping with my sister and some friends. We were gone for about 4 hours. About 10min after we got home a lady comes to the door really concerned telling us that we had a dog on our roof. We told her, oh, she does that all the time. She just likes it up there. Then, I started to freak out! I had left her out there for more than 4 hours in the middle of the day on a super hot day! We ran upstairs and called her name. She wasn't coming. We started to freak out. I was thinking, crap, she jumped off and killed herself (really this is not logical, Sandee is way to smart for that). After about 3min of calling her we see her come around the side of the house and she is walking so slowly and with a limp. It was one of the most heartbreaking things that I have ever seen. I felt like a complete jerk and idoit (well, I should have- and still do). 

I'm just grateful for that women. I know that she was guided by the spirit to come and tell us that, and I'm so glad that she listened. 

Finally she got back in and she felt like she'd been cooked to death. We quickly got her some water that she gulped down as fast as she could. Then, she threw up half of it a minute later. Because she was so hot we put her near a vent on her favorite pillow in my mom's room to rest. I felt so bad. I was just laying in there petting her and I prayed so hard to my Heavenly Father to just let her be able to cool down and rest. The second I opened my eyes she was sound asleep. 

For the next few days we thought she was going to die. I was literally preparing myself mentally. Besides that, I felt like an awful person. Every time I would look at her a sick feeling would enter the pit of my stomach.

She walked like she was 200 years old and wouldn't do anything. She walked with a limp in her back leg and the pads of her feet were super burned she could barely walk anywhere. She wouldn't bark, eat, drink, or do anything. It was really sad because normally she is crazy and active. 

My mom almost took her to the vet on Friday morning because she thought she was done for. But then she looked it up online and started giving her half water half gatorade through a syringe every 30min. That actually seemed to help. She got better and better. And by Sunday afternoon she was pretty much back to her regular self! 

Now you are probably thinking- what the heck does this have to do with prayer. Well- for one- the little story about me praying for her in there. Second- all my family had been praying for her and she got better! It was kind of a miracle. Third- well, this doesn't really have to do with prayer. But Heavenly Father was sure looking out for us when she sent that lady to come and tell us about Sandee. We are 99% sure she would have died up there. Or at least died from the effects once we found her. 

As I'm writing this, a quote comes to mind that I just love. 


"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."


That is just the first part of it, and I know it has to do with serve. But i think that this applies here!

Wicked!

We got tickets to see Wicked for Christmas last year. But, it wasn't until July! So, it was a LOOONGGG wait! Yesterday was the day! We got to see it!
We know a lot of the songs, but we didn't actually know the story line. Boy were we surprised! It was beyond amazing! Besides that, it was hilarious! I wouldn't hesitate for even a second to go again right now to see it. It was completely worth the wait! :) We went with the Gocken's because Cindy was the one that found the tickets way back when and told my mom about them. Let's just say, it was the perfect present for us!
We went to dinner and did some shopping before. It was so much fun :)

Man. I really do love life! :D

Sometimes I think about really weird stuff.

This time when my mind wandered I thought- "Am I afraid to die?"

It was kind of a weird one, I'd never really thought about it surprisingly.

But- you know what- I really am not afraid to die. That is all because of my religion. We never learn that death is a scary thing or that we should be afraid. All I know is that when I die, I get to see a lot of people that I love again. Who would be afraid of that? I also get to be a missionary! Come on. Let's be real. Best things ever! So I could see why a lot of people would be really afraid of dying, but not me! I wish I could tell everyone to not be afraid because really, it's a lot better up there! Not that down here is bad, because I love it down here as well! I can't imagine how it is up there!

A little more about Primary! :)

I love being in Primary! I say that a lot, but I really do! They told all the Primary kids to pray for rain because of the fires. So they did in their prayers in Primary and I’m sure a lot of them did in their own prayers. But it rained the week they told all of them to pray! It was so cute because the next week in Primary all the kids were so excited because their prayers worked! It had rained and the fires were out! It was amazing to see their strong faith in their Father in Heaven. It just shows that Heavenly Father answers and hears ALL of our prayers, especially the kids. :) 

When push comes to shove

I don't care what anyone thinks (including my mom) Rascal Flatts is the best band out there. The end. I love every single one of their songs and the lyrics are phenomenal. 

So! I was listening to them right now and I just love the lyrics to the song "Stand" but especially the chorus! 

Cause when push comes to shove

You taste what you're made of

You might bend, till you break

Cause its all you can take

On your knees you look up

Decide you've had enough

You get mad you get strong

Wipe your hands shake it off

Then you Stand

Ya. That's it. It's pretty good stuff. 

Flaming Gorge 2012!

You know how much we love this place! This year was especially fun and probably one of the most memorable for a lot of my family!

I'll just explain in a short time and I'll only post some of the pictures (I have 339 I'm not posting all of those). 

Friday- 

Long fun drive. 

Got there. 

Set up camp. 

Thought we stabbed a turtle. 

Lake. 

Food. 

Food. 

Ate. 

Stuffed the floaties in the car. 

Washoos. 

4square.

You can't stop the beat. 

Games.

Took a million pictures while talking. 

Slept. 

Slept. 

Peed. 

Slept. 

Saturday-

Lake. 

Floated. 

Rock throwing contest. 

Ate. 

Ate. 

Danced. 

Slept. 

Washoos! 

4 square. 

Games. 

Rain. 

Wind. 

Chin people. 

You can't stop the beat. 

Sunday- 

Church. 

Showers.

Games. 

Hike. 

Games. 

4 square. 

Badmitten. 

Washooes. 

Fire. 

Smores. 

Singing. 

Singing. 

Singing. 

Testimonies. 

Crying. 

Slept. 

Slept. 

Slept. 

Monday- 

Early. 

River. 

Fishing. 

Moses. 

Sunglasses. 

Titanic. 

Lizzie Mcguire. 

Lizzie Mcguire. 

Fail. 

Empors New Grove. 

Food. 

Lodge. 

Food. 

Games. 

4 square. 

Sleep. 

Sleep 

Sleep. 

Tuesday- 

Hike. 

Canyon. 

Injuries. 

Stream. 

Lake. 

Cliff Diving. 

Cliff Diving. 

Floating. 

Ice Cream. 

Lodge. 

Packing up. 

Sad. 

Sad. 

Sad. 

So! That's pretty much it! We did a lot of eating and playing games and water! We love it every year! :) I think I missed a bunch of stuff. But it was a blast! 

But! The best part was when we sat around the camp fire. First- singing girls camp songs, then we moved into church songs. The spirit was so strong as all of us tone deaf Calder girls sang our hearts out. We cried. Then Austin got up and shared his testimony as well as some others. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. It was by far the best Sunday we have every had up there! I can't wait till next year! I already want to go back! :) 

The Browns!

The Browns are our good friend that lived across the street from us in Layton. Emma and Sydnee kind of "complete" our family if you think about it. They fill the holes in ages.

I'm 19 and a Sophmore in college. 

Emma is 18 and a Freshman in college. 

Ashley is 17 and a Senior in High School. 

Karly is 16 and a Junior in High School. 

Sydnee is 15 and a Sophmore in High School. 

Katelyn is 14 and a Freshman in High School. 

Then... there is Chandler. The only boy who is 8 ;) 

But we have kept in contact with them all these years and every time we get together it doesn't even feel like it's been that long since we have seen each other! It's great! We just love them! :) 

They live in Colorado and came to Utah last week to do some stuff for Emma because she is going to BYU! Yay! So we got to hangout with them a little bit! 

We went to Cafe Rio for dinner, went swimming, went to seven peaks, went to Katelyn's softball game, and ate in and out! We had a blast even thought it was only for a short time. 

Here are the pictures! :) 

Joseph Smith

I have been meaning to write in my blog FOREVER! I've just been so busy with work and vacations I haven't even had time! So, I had to make a little note in my phone about what I wanted to write about! Be prepared for updates! 

One of my favorite things to do is just sit down and play the hymns. It relaxes me and for some odd reason! I just love it a lot! I can play most of the well known hymns now and it excites me because now I may even be able to play for church a little if they needed me :) But I was sitting playing one of my favorite songs- "Joseph Smith's first prayer." As I played I sang the words out loud to myself and really thought about them. Then I had this overwhelming feeling of joy. I couldn't help from smiling. The spirit was unbelievably strong and it was surrounding me like a big giant hug! I knew with all my heart that the words I was singing were true. Joseph Smith was a true prophet and he did do all of those things that he said he did. I already had a strong testimony of this, but that just shows that there is always room for your testimony to grow, even if you think your testimony is already super strong, it can always grow! :) It was an amazing experience! Then today I was playing Praise to the Man, I have played this song more times than I can count, mainly because I did it for a recital piece and for my pageant, it's one of my favorites and I know it well. But the words "Jesus anointed that prophet and seer" stuck out. I know that he did. Joseph Smith was a man called of God and nothing will ever change that. He was chosen before he came to earth to restore the gospel to this church once more. I can never deny that. I don't know how someone could. The book of mormon is a completely true book and was written for us in this day and age, and the prophet Joseph Smith Junior translated it. 

It's funny to think all of these thoughts came into my mind through 2 little songs. Music is powerful! Imagine what else it can do! 

I. LOVE. LIFE.

That pretty much is it. I really do just love my life right now. I have my amazing family, my fantastic friends, my inspired calling, my super fun job, my many opportunities, and if that's not enough, I feel like I am happy all the time and everything is going the way it's supposed to!
After having a bummer week last weekend, this is a big step for me! ;)
Last week I was just having a rough time emotionally. I couldn't seem to keep control of the million thoughts that were constantly running through my head. Every movie I watched, including an episode of Psych, I would find myself forcing myself to hold back tears. It's Psych. Really. That's just pathetic. I just felt really sad, and was feeling bad for myself. Not a good place to be in. I felt like my mom was mad at me all the time, I felt like I was being a crappy sister, and I was missing my dad more than ever. So Saturday, after I had a big meltdown in my closet after watching Dear John, I had a feeling that I should just go and talk to my mom.
Of course, who would have guessed, that made everything better. We talked about my life, and how I felt like her and I weren't getting along, and how I felt like something was missing in my life, and how I was emotional; then I told her about friend problems and how I was worrying about my future and yada yada yada. It was just a big sob story. We talked for a while, and she told me what I needed to do, and what I needed to hear. I felt so much better! I literally felt like I could conquer the world. Talking to your mom does that to ya sometimes. ;)
I then talked to my Heavenly Father for a while, just like he was sitting right there next to me. He's my best friend, and he deserves to know a lot more about my life then I tell him. So I spilled the beans. Then next thing I know I feel 100% happy. I felt like I didn't have a care in the world. The main thing emotionally that had been killing me was, of course, not having a man in my life. I would complain about it to my mom and friends. That, was getting me no where. I knew that. But I finally just came to grips that I needed to move on and stop moaning about it. My mom helped me that most with that by telling me that my cousins who went on missions both have amazing husbands, and they are just amazing people all around. That really turned everything around for me. I knew that of course, but this time it hit me like a punch in the face. Now I know that all I really want to do right now is go on a mission. So I should be preparing for that, and marriage will come later! Whew. Man. I feel so much better. I can't even explain! I feel like someone just lifted a giant hot dog off my shoulders and stuck a giant stick in my ear to clear my brain of all the things I was thinking (don't ask- that's just how I feel....).
Heavenly Father cares so much about us. He used my mom to help me. He didn't give me the answers, he didn't give me what I wanted, he just gave me what I needed. Peace of mind and my mom ;)

4th of July!

 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! Good food, fireworks, sports, family, even the heat! It's all just fabulous! We have a little family reunion at a park every year where we all just bring dinner, eat, talk, and play frisbee. I always look forward to it! :) 

This year, during the day I hung out with my family. We played cards, picked a million apricots off our tree, and made these awesome shirts! 

The million fireworks 

Makin' the shirts  

My hilarious cousin actually thought this was Utah- on the 4th of July. He's in his twenties :)

Danny actually gave us the idea for the shirts. One night I was talking to him on the phone and he was talking about how we always had cool matching shirts for the 4th. So, then he said that we should all just wear a white and red striped shirt and then stand together so it would look like an american flag. He was joking, but I told my mom and we ended up doing it :) 

When we got to the party, he was laughing so hard! Everyone else loved the shirts too, so it ended ip being great :) 

Then we watching the coolest firework show that I have EVER seen! I've seen a lot of em'! My cousins bought a TON of fireworks! They were all awesome! A lot of them, I had never even see before so it was entertaining! Besides having a few hot coals drop on me, it was an unforgettable night! 

If you play with fire- you will probably burn something

The 3rd of July was a big adventure for us.

I spent the day shopping with my mom and Ash for my birthday. 

Then I talked with Makelle, Christina, and Ash for a while. 

We then went swimming at Jackie's pool. 

Then we went skinny dipping (not really. We took off our bottoms and swung them around. 

We planned our bear lake trip. 

We planned when we would really go skinny dipping. 

We planned to make a bucket list. 

We then drove around looking for a place to skinny dip and swim. 

We couldn't find one. 

So, we tried to visit someone, walked into their house, and they weren't there. Embarrassing.

Then we went to the store to get chocolate for smores. 

Here is where it gets interesting:

We didn't have any firewood (later we learned that we really did), but we still wanted smores.  So, we got some little candles that we had and sat on our table outside to roast them. It wasn't working very well because the marshmallows were really stale. But, Brock had this genius idea... we were doing sparklers that were huge and they had wood on the end that we could break up to make a little fire. So then we could roast our marshmallows better (hardly). The only problem- I stuck my legs out and felt hot wax drip on my leg. We all freaked out because the candles were burning through the table! Ash is so smart and grabbed the hose. But, when she sprayed it on, it just got bigger! Luckily one of us that wasn't just standing there watching was actually smart enough to go and get some flour. Thanks to Jackie our house didn't burn down. Brock took the flour and poured it on it. Good thing it worked. We basically just made a huge hole in our table. Good fun. 

Then we laid on the tramp for a while wrapping each other up in the blanket and whipping them out like a ride. Then we had like 7 blankets and we all put our feet in the middle to stay warm. It was so much fun! 

It's a really good thing that my mom is chill about the whole thing. I'm just glad it was a holiday the next day, I think that helped.