Busy Summer in Italy!

Hey Everyone! :) 

Yes, I'm still alive. Just in case any of you were wondering. I realized I haven't blogged in forever. But I have a good excuse (kind of) I promise. 

I moved to Italy June 5th and have been going, going, going non stop since then. I'm working here for the summer as a tutor/camp counselor at English camps all over Italy, and will be moving to Austria next week until August 13th. But that's besides the point :) I've just been so busy. Today is the first day in a month and a half that I've had time to sit down and relax. I haven't even had time to send Jared letters. Yeah, it's sad. We've been communicating primarily through email. But honestly, I really miss getting/sending letters.

I have so much I should update, so many stories and experiences I could share, but that would turn into a massive novel I know none of you would read, lets be honest. So I'll stick with the important stuff.

• Jared had his first baptism on June 1st and was asked to be the one to perform the baptism. He was beyond excited :)

• Teaching English over here in Italy has done wonders for making time pass. Not only is time going by quickly, but I've learned and grown so much just by living here. The only downside is that I haven't been able to attend church because my host families don't like driving far distances and the churches are always far away :( But there's always a positive way to look at a situation. I have realized the importance of attending church every single week, and how big of a blessing it is. I will never take it for granted again.

• Call me a little 13 year old girl, but I love Cody Simpson's music, and this song has been on repeat recently. "Wherever you are, no matter how far, I promise that I won't give up on you. They say 'out of sight' means 'out of mind' but that couldn't be further from the truth, because I'm in love with you. I'm still in love with you. Even if there is an ocean keeping your heart from mine, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you all of the time. I'm counting the days till I see you, and somewhere I know that you are too" He gets us MG's ;)

• Yesterday we hit 4 MONTHS DOWN! I can't believe it :) The first three went so slow, but the fourth just flew by. And what better place to celebrate than Venice, Italy? :) I am seriously so blessed to be having this much fun while he's gone. I'm living my dreams and couldn't be happier with everything in my life :) Waiting isn't about "waiting" It's about growing, changing, becoming, having fun, traveling, making friends, fulfilling callings, working, developing hobbies and skills and ultimately, becoming who Heavenly Father knows you can become through righteous living. 

• Click here to watch my 3 Months Down Video :)

• Overall, I am so happy, and loving life. Jared is amazing. So dedicated to the work, I've never heard him complain, and he is loving the people. He writes the most loving emails, along with amazing stories and spiritual experiences. He never breaks the rules, and he's just basically the perfect missionary :) I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend/missionary. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in my life. Waiting is hard, but amazing at the same time. We're both growing so much and I've seen it bless our relationship tremendously. Basically, I got this :) 4 down, 20 to go! 

Our Last Video Together

Before he left, we filmed one last video of us together.

The video speaks for itself. I miss him <3

See You in 2 Years, My Love

I am happy to say that Jared is officially in the MTC as of 4 days ago :)

I don't even know where to start. Jared's farewell was a week ago today. I remember him telling me how nervous and scared he was to speak in front of so many people. He told me not to expect anything good. But of course, he totally surprised us all. His talk was absolutely amazing and I'm sure everyone in the congregation felt the spirit just as strong as I did. Afterwards, we all went to his house and he said goodbye to some friends. Oh also, the day of his farewell was also  
St. Patricks day :)

That day was wonderful and happy :) We hardly left each others sides. We both knew he was needing to get ready to enter the MTC, but at the same time, we continued to act completely normal around each other. I'd walk away for a minute to talk to someone and he'd come over and say, "Hey, you were too far away from me :)" 

Then we had our last day together on Tuesday. It was amazing to say the least. I went over to his house and helped him pack some last minute items. We then played pool and made some yummy food. The weather was nice (thankfully) so we decided to go on a walk at a park we'd always go to during the winter. We'd go at night and buy hot chocolate and then go walk around the park. As we were walking he started talking about leaving and I told him he needed to stop because I could feel the tears coming. I didn't want to talk about him being gone. All I wanted to do was focus on my time left with him. After our walk, we drove to my house :) We decided to watch The Best Two Years outside with blankets on my trampoline as the sun was setting. It was perfect :) 

After the movie we went inside and sat in my room. We knew we only had 45 minutes left together. Jared said, "Come here, let's just cuddle for a little while. I know it's your favorite" so we did :) We didn't really talk, we just sat there in each others arms. We eventually started talking about our future, me waiting, his mission, and old memories :) He wanted to see me smile so he kept bringing up old memories from us together in Hawaii. 

Eventually the time came. It was 8:00 and he needed to go home to get set apart. I started crying, and I didn't even know what to say. We were hugging for a while and I said, "Any final words?" Jared waited for a second and said, "I love you. There's nothing else I can say" and then he started to tear up and by that point I was completely bawling. We stood by my front door for what seemed like a lifetime.   We had one last kiss, well technically 3. We kiss in 3's :) And then I said, "Sweetheart, you need to go.." so we walked to the door and I double pinky promised him that I'd wait :) I hugged him one last time. It was hard to get the words out through my crying, but said "You're going to be an amazing missionary." He was so emotional which was making it harder for me. So then he walked outside but just stood there looking at me. So I ran out and hugged him one last time and then stood in the doorway as I watched him walk away, realizing I needed to capture this and remember it forever. We did the "I love you" sign before he started to drive away. I came inside with my hand over my mouth, trying to keep my crying and breathing under control. 

This goodbye was SO much harder than it was with my first missionary. It's crazy. But I couldn't be more proud of my sweetheart. I know we'll both be blessed. I've come to realize that we were seriously created for each other and I love him more than I ever thought I could. Plus, I'm happy to finally consider myself a missionary girlfriend again :) Wish me luck for the next two years! <3

One Week Left..

I can't believe that one week from tonight, I'll be saying "see you later" to my best friend. It's really starting to hit me. For a while I'd just been excited to start spring break and be with Jared again. But now that spring break has started and we've spent time together, I'm finally starting to realize how quickly time is going. You'd think that I'd already know this since I've said goodbye to a missionary before. A little over two years ago actually.. But the thing is, It's totally different this time. I don't know how to explain it. I just know, this time is different. He's different :) Different than anyone I've ever known. 

It's 1:57am and I just got done watching The Bachelor finale. I know this is going to sound super cheesy, but just watching Sean pick Catherine and everything that happened, just makes me see how Jared seriously is the one for me. I used to watch shows like that and think, "Aw, they're so in love. I want a guy like that." I can honestly say, I have someone BETTER than that. I have a relationship BETTER than that. I was never able to say that before :) He's truly my best friend. He's my rock and anchor in this crazy life. He's the person I want to spend every day with. He loves me unconditionally and shows me in a million ways every day. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I could go on and on.

In the lyrics of our song it says, "When God made you, he must have been thinking about me." Those lyrics could not be any more true. He's the one. I just know it :) Now gone are all my questions about why, and I've never been so sure of anything in my life :) 

(our song = When God Made You - Newsong ft. Natalie Grant)

Christmas/New Years Eve

Again.. I fail at blogging. I'm going to throw a ton of pictures out there just to catch up time. So here we go :) 

WINTER PHOTOS:

I like to have pictures taken of us once every season. Of course, I can't afford a photographer so I have to give my camera to my little sister and attempt to edit the pictures myself. I wish more than anything that I had a nice camera. The Canon T3i is will be my next big spend as soon as I get enough money.

Next, Christmas!

  

He bought me the most amazing Christmas presents :) First off, purple is my favorite color. Taylor Swift is my favorite artist, I needed new perfume and it's purple. How perfect is that? He also got me the little puppy because he couldn't get me a real one before he left. And finally, he got a necklace with a "J" on it :) I love it all!!

 My first carriage ride! :)

Eating Breaking on Christmas Eve at Kneaders :)

 <3

Since i'm not so good at writing, I put together videos that show how my Christmas break went :)

Lastly, New Years Eve!

We spent our morning watching New Years Eve (the movie) and started out night off at the Provo Mall.

We then went over to a YSA dance :)

We ended our night at Ihop where creeper friends took pictures of us ;)

Phew, now that I'm somewhat caught up, I can finally start blogging again :) 

It's Been 2 Years..

In the back of my mind, I've been telling myself I need to write this blog post. I just haven't been able to do it yet. Today is February 10th. Yesterday, two years ago, was the hardest day of my life. It has officially been two years since I said goodbye to love of my life at that time. I'm putting together some videos and thoughts because I can't seem to find the words to write. So be patient with me and I'll have a blog post coming up soon all about my feelings, and his feeling and where we stand right now. I want to thank all you girls for reading my blog and all the friends I've made because of these wonderful two years. I want to specifically thank my amazing waiting buddy, Jane. February 9th will always remind me of her and our little celebrations. I want to keep writing.. But I mustn't. I need to save it all for the future blog post. I just wanna end by saying I love all you girls. Keep waiting! And believe in good things to come :)