You're Gonna Miss This

My mother is one wise wise woman let me just tell ya. She heard this song the other day and told me I need to listen to it. I have always loved this song but never really listened to the words and meaning of the song. I am the type of person who learns the words so I can sing it at the top of my lungs in the car! 

Today I took the time to listen to the words and think about what this song actually is saying. Why is it that we all want the next big thing in life? Why can't we all just be happy with where we are at? I know for myself I am always in a hurry to rush into the next big step. I loved every minute of high school but I remember constantly thinking about becoming a college student and couldn't wait for the day when I would live on my own. Now that I am out of high school I would love to go back and have less responsibilities than I do now! I hate being a grown up! ha. And now that I am in college the next big step is MARRIAGE!! I can't wait to be married and after that is children! All of these things are really great and I can NOT wait for all of them to happen. But after listening to this song I realized these things are going to come on their own time. If we don't take the time to enjoy the NOW of life we aren't going to remember how great these times in our life were. It's great to have goals and steps in life but don't focus completely on them and forget to make yourself happy now! Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and enjoy the journey! Enjoy the NOW of the journey! Don't get lost in focusing on the future! Take the time to smells the flowers! :)

Catching up!! Dixie State... you will be missed!

Ok..... so let me start out by stating the obvious... I Lashea Taylor am terrible at keeping up with my blog. I thought Oh yeah for sure I am going to at least write one blog a month my sophomore year... Well twelve months later and I have written one, Uno! So I want to apologize to the blogger world for failing at being a good blogger. I have made a promise that with all the new adventures coming my way with transferring schools and moving to a new town I am going to be better at this blog thing. haha. And if I am not then you all have my permission to give me a little wake up call.

For this blog post I want to reminisce my times at Dixie State College. I have been at Dixie State for the last two years (holy cow time is FLYING) and let me just say I know for certain I was supposed to come to Dixie for a reason. The people I have met and the experiences I have had there I would not change for anything! I remember trying to make the decision of where to go to college and I was torn between Dixie State and BYU. I had always wanted to go to BYU, it had been my dream ever since I went there for EFY. There was something about Dixie that drew me to go to St. George.... it could have been the great scholarship I got through ambassadors ha. I just didn't want to give up my involvement within the school. So therefore I had made the decision to go to Dixie. I was so excited! I remember packing up my room two years ago and being absolutely scared to death but so ecstatic to go to college! I was going to be in college! WHAT?! College was for grown ups! I was not a grown up... HECK I still watched the disney channel and was terrified of the dark. Was I ready for this? As hard as it was to leave home I was more ready than I thought I was. It's amazing how much the Lord helps you in situations that are out of your comfort zone. We all hate to step out of our comfort zone but that is the time we rely on the Lord most and when we are able to grow.

And boy did I grow!!!!!! Walking into my apartment for the first time was the coolest, weirdest, most emotional experience ever! I remember walking in and seeing all my roommates for the first time. Krista, Allie and Megan. At the beginning we knew nothing about each other but at the end of the year, let me tell ya, we were closer than ever. I had never had sisters so sharing a house with three other girls was a new experience for me haha. Yes we had our arguments, Is that my shirt you are wearing? Who's turn is it to do the dishes? Who's stuff is in the living room? But overall we all got along so well and I could not have asked for better girls to room with. Allie was the mother hen of the bunch. I want to thank her for introducing me to so many lasting friends. There is no way that I would have been able to meet so many of these awesome people of St. George without her help. She is so friendly to everyone and knows absolutely EVERYONE! She taught me so much about life and growing up. There were countless pillow talks about boys, school, boys, and boys haha. She always had the best advice and taught me to rely on my Heavenly Father at all times. Now Krista was like my older sister/ dance teacher. She has the best moves you will ever see! I remember all the nights we would turn on music and she would break out dancing on the spot! And she was so good haha. I tried to mimic her moves but I gave up FAST! She took me under her wing along with Allie in teaching me everything I need to know about college life. She was always there for me to talk to when I had a problem and was constantly looking out for me like an older sister would do. And then there was our little CNA buttwiper megs! Now me and little meggy were like twin sisters. She is now valiantly serving a mission in Houston Texas woot woot! And I can not express how much I miss my little sidekick. We tease meg all the time about being ditsy but secretly we all loved when we had to come open the door cuz she locked her keys in or when we had to once again pick her up cuz she ran out of gas. We love her for that! She always kept me on my toes. I have never had a friend who always wanted to be doing things like I did. I love to be out and about with people and Meg was always by my side. She taught me to always look for the good in others. Whether you like them or not always find the good. This is why she is going to be an outstanding missionary! She loves everyone and is accepting of everyone. The people of Texas are so lucky to have her. A huge thank you to my first year roommates! You guys helped me more than you will ever know with the hard transition of coming into college. THANK YOU!!! I love you girls!

The Second year of my college experience I thought would never be as great as the first. We did so many things the first year, it could never be topped! But boy was I wrong. The second year was just as legendary as the first! I have my second year roommates to thank for that Annalee, Megan, Brooke and Jaime. All of these girls are absolutely crazy! haha Crazy in a good way of course! Miss Annalee Brunt I would have to say was the craziest one out of us all. She was always looking for an adventure! Going, to the lake, snowboarding on zero sleep, paddleboarding. You name it we did it! She could keep you laughing for hours! I have her to thank for always keeping a positive outlook on life. She loves life and all the adventures life has to offer. I am so so glad that I have her to room with this next semester in Provo woot woot!! Keep the good times rolling!!!! :) Brooke and Jaime were both my actual room roommates if that makes sense haha meaning I shared a room with them. I know what you are thinking... those poor girls! Sharing a room with Shea?! haha Thank you two girls for putting up with me this last year. Thank you for listening to all my boy problems and thank you for staying awake talking to me into the wee hours of the night the nights I couldn't fall asleep. I will Forver be grateful for the both of you!

Halloween party!! 

Krista, Allie, Me and Meg 

FOAM DANCE freshmen year

Sometimes our fights got a little out of hand.... Oops!

Me, Brooke and Meg

Brooke, Me and Meg cutting down our Christmas tree, yes we cut it ourselves!!

Me, Anal and Meg stretching before Red Rock Relay

 I also want to give a special shoutout to the Kool Kids of Mulberry Point from my first year of college. Seriously this place was THEE place to be! We had college kids in almost every little town home and we were all one big happy family. I loved it! We had the Moapa boys in #8, which I did not mind at all!  haha I had a bit of a crush on one of those boys so I was constantly looking for a reason to go over to their house. "Oh.... our can opener is broken? I'm gonna go see if the boys in 8 have one we can use" This line was used on numerous occasions! They were the best of boys and I am so thankful for them in letting me use their can opener. Hopefully they never caught on to what I was really trying to do. Let's hope! Two of them are now serving full time missions and I can't wait for them to get home! :) The girls in #5 were little miss Haley and the Leavitts and Stefanie Higginson. I grew so close to the both of them. Those two knew how to have fun let's just say! They taught me to love life and find the funniness in EVERYTHING! I am going to miss the both of them so dearly! and last but not least we had Jordyn Hanny in #4. She just recently got baptized and I could not be more proud of her decision. She is an amazing girl! She is always serving others. Her house was the Mary Poppins house. if you didn't have it, Jordyn did! She was always giving. I am so glad I was able to be a part of her journey. I will never forget out lovely Chem class we had together. The teacher hated us but we loved it! Mulberry point was great and I will forever miss that place. I can't wait to drive by there and tell my kids about it someday :) ill telll them about the Halloween mystery party, mattress races, movie nights, fondue nights, and countless game nights we had there.

Our Fancy Chemistry Class 

Jordyn Hanny!

Hayden Coop-Dawg! AKA Moapa boy in #8

Haley and Stef

Goodbye Mulberry #10! It's been real... It's been Fun.... It's been Real Fun!! 

And last but certainly not least I want to thank the amazing ambassador program that I have been involved with for the past two years. The people within this program are amazing and I could not thank them enough for picking me to represent their school. From high school retreats, to recruiting in our hometowns we did it all. I have met so many friends through this program and I am so sad to be leaving such a great thing. They truly taught me to be a leader and how to work with others who share the same goals you do. They are an amazing bunch and I am going to miss them all so much this year!!!!! 

The Ambadassador volleyball team woot!

Our lovely Float for Homecoming Week

The Great Race

And to all of you at Dixie State that I have not mentioned who have been a part of my journey... THANK YOU!!!! I have made so many friends at Dixie who I will miss so dearly! College sucks sometimes! You meet all these great people and then you leave! Dang it! There is actually one more shoutout I have to make before closing this blogpost. To Jordan Houston, Conner Atkin and Trumbull Bundy... thank you boys for being my best guy friends this last year at Dixie. Without you fellas, I would not know how to swing dance, ride a bull (which I still don't know how to do), and i would have never ridden in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon. Greatest date I have ever been on in my entire life! Awesome! Trumbull you have set the bar really high for date ideas. Thanks for teaching me so much about myself and for being so patient with me. You boys are the best and are going to make some lucky girls so so happy someday! Well Conner's big day is coming up and I could not be happier for him! But seriously thank you boys! Thanks for putting up with me!

The Grand Canyon!

I am going to miss everyone in St. George! And although I am scared to death to switch schools I couldn't be more excited for this new adventure! BRING ON THE CHANGE!!!! :) Come what may and LOVE it! 

Late night Rendezvous!

I freakin love my roomates! After a late night studying session in the library our brains were fried and our heads ached so what better thing to do then to go out and play some tennis?! Great idea right?! Unfortunately to say though I did not win this round. I let Megan win this time just so she could have her confidence boosted a little bit. And poor poor Annalee came in last :) haha wah wah wah! I love my roommates and am so glad that we all get along so well!

Annalee's PERFECT form!

 

 

Megs posing for the camera haha

 

 

New Harmony... home away from home

So school has started and time is flying by. We were all so excited for school to start and then after about a week that excitement slowly dwindled haha. As it always does! I have been so stressed with trying to figure out what I am going to do about my major. I was planning on going into the dental hygiene program but that would mean that I would be taking anatomy and physiology together this semester! Can you say IMPOSSIBLE?! haha. And I just didn't know if I still wanted to do dental hyiene anymore. I loved working at the kids dentist office this summer and then when I shadowed for the adult dentist office I hated it! I was so stressed out at the beginning of the semsester trying to decide what to do. After thinking about it I thought well maybe I just liked the kids dentist because I love to be around kids so much. So why not be an elementary school teacher? I was already a week into my classes when I decided this. I was an emotional wreck that week haha. Finally, after lots of prayers, I decided that I would keep anatomy in my schedule but take an intro to education class to get a feel of what I wanted to do.  This was an answer to my prayers. I love my classes right now!

After the first week of school we all decided that we were really homesick and none of our families live close besides Megan's. We loaded up in the car and drove to New Harmony. I have been there numerous times and each time it is like going home. Megan's family is great! I miss my family so much but it is great that I have such a great family away from home. They have become like my second parents.

Here we are out in the fields. It is so pretty out there!

A big shout out to Mama and Papa Pace! Thanks for adopting me and letting me have your family and house be my home away from home :)

A little getaway to California

Since every member of my family has had such a busy busy schedule this summer we could not find a week in the summer where we could all take off to go on a vacation. Chaz had been busy with all-stars all Summer and C.J. had been taking classes at BYU all summer and I was working. So we had NO idea when we were all going to be able to go! Finally we sat down and all looked at our schedules and found a weekend that would work for all of us. But where would we go?? Well since we were planning on going over Chaz's birthday we decided that we would go to Six Flags since he had never been there before. No child's life is complete without six flags! I was stoked! I had not been there in years and six flags is my absolute FAVORITE! :)

The days leading up to leaving were crazy busy for me! The weekend that we chose to go was the weekend before I was moving back to St george... SO guess what that meant?? Yep haha I had to pack everything up BEFORE the vacation. If you know me well you know that I hate packing and I am a procrastinater ha put those two things together and you get NO BUENO! I was stressing out that I wouldn't be able to get everything packed before we left and I didn't but at least most of it was packed right?!

Finally the day came to leave! We were all in high spirits that morning when we woke up bright and early but those high spirits soon dwindled as a tragic accident occured at the Taylor house. So as we are getting ready to leave (by now it is 11:30 when we were planning on leaving by 9:00 haha mormon standard time) my dad wanted me to park my car  in the garage but the garage door was broken from a few weeks ago when a girl named Lashea accidentally shut the garage door string in the car door and caused the car to crush the garage door. OOOOPPSSS!! My dad was not too happy! So he tried to open the garge door himself. He was successful in getting it open but unfortunately it all went downhill when he tried to close it. I leaned over to my mom and said he is going to break that garage door completely and low and behold the whole garage door broke. The wheels came off the tracks so it was almost impossible to shut! So let me paint the picture of this in your mind. We are all waiting in the car for my dad and the garage door completely brakes! We were all in shock! Finally after what seemed like forever.... we were able to get the garage door closed completely. My dad was not too happy haha but when we were all finally in the car ready to go we all busted up laughing! Of course that would hapen to us right before we leave! Here is a picture of the damage that was done. Bad news bears....


Our lovely slanted garage door :)

We slammed it shut and finally we were off to California!! :) Thank heavens! Our drive was about a seven and a half hour drive. It actually wasn't too bad! It was fun having all of us kids back together since we hadn't seen CJ all summer and this was the first vacation we had been on with him since he has been back home from his mission.

Our first night in Califonia we only had time to go to dinner. There are so many different places to eat it was hard to choose! We finally decided that we would eat at this restraunt called Buca. It was a great Italian food place!

So glad to be back with my brothers!



Our lovely parentals! Love them :)

 With full bellies and smiles on our faces we went to bed and awaited the next day when we would be going to SIX FLAGS!!! :) We thought that the gates opened at 9:30 so we rushed and rushed to get there. We got there by 9:15 and it turns out the gates didn't open for another hour and 15 minutes! This was a first for our family haha to arrive and hour before the opening?! WHAT?! We were one of the first families at the gate which was great!

GOLIATH! Such a fun ride!

Poor Ceej got cut out of the picture! I loved this ride (Batman)! :)

The rides were great! The lines weren't too terrible long but the weather was dreadfully hot! Literally everyone of us was drenched in sweat! It looked like we had just gotten out of the pool by the middle of the day. It was miserable!

Our poor little selves! SOOOO HOT!!!



Our birthday boy :) I can't believe he is getting to be so old!
He is getting to be so big!

And this just about sums up our exerience at Six Flags. It was so much fun!

After such a fun day at the park we were tired, sweaty and very hungry! Chaz got to pick where we ate that night since it was his birthday and of course he chose Chinese food. We stopped at Pei Wei on the way back to the hotel.

Chaz man. Can't believe he's 12!

The next day entaled a whole day at the beach! It was great! I don't have any of the pictures on my computer, my mom has all of them so sorry that there are no pictures of our last day! We went to Valencia beach and caught some rays all day long. The boys did some body surfing and got pretty banged up. Dad got the worst of it. A huge wave came and just demolished him! He got slammed against the ground and had a huge bump on his head and some major road rash on his shoulders. haha. Poor guy! After being at the beach for about five hours we headed back to the motel. We were a so worn out we headed to bed. We woke up early the next morning so that we could get back in time to go to the last ward meeting in Cottonwood and to also get back for Chaz's ordination.

His ordination was so great. Scott and Nat's family came along with both grandpas and grandma. He is getting to be so grown up I can't believe it. He is such an awesome boy and I have loved watching him grow and also spending so much time with him this summer. I love him to death!

Although it was a short weekend trip it was a great getaway with the family. I love my family so much! And I am so glad that we are all so close and together for eternity :)

Hello bloggers!!! To start my sophomore year of college I thought I would start a blog so that I can keep a journal of all of our crazy college things that we have going on at Dixie State College. I am so excited to go back to school but I am definitely going to miss my family! I have loved being able to spend so much time with them this Summer.

For my last weekend home we decided that we would go up on top of Mingus Mountain as a last hurrah before I go back to school next Monday. We all got on our quadding attire and off we went!

                                              Me and Chaz ready to go! (love Chaz's red hair)

 On our way up the mountain :)

 Chaz, me and Mom

 Chaz, me and Dad

 I'm gonna miss this little guy!

 riding through the puddles!

 Soo cute!! :)

 He is getting to be so big!

When we got back we were covered in dirt from head to toe. Mainly me and Chaz because we were the lucky ones who got stuck in the back the WHOLE time! After jumping in the shower we got in the car and headed to the movies to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Chaz's favorite books to read of all time!
It was such fun day to spend with my family! They have helped me through so much. I am going to miss them as I go back to school but no matter where I go in life I know that I can always find my way back home :)