megan ann.

summer storms

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:59:00 +0000

The pitter-patter of rain sounds on the roof, and the smell drifts up through the open window. Lightening fills the sky followed closely by the loud echoes of thunder. Thunder is always louder around here because we live so close to the mountains. They give it something to echo loudly off of. I love thunder storms. It's one of my very favorite parts of the Summer season. I love listening to them and smelling that yummy smell of rain mixed with the dirt of the land. Doesn't sound so yummy, but it's one of my favorite smells in this world. I love how the sky and world turns a burned yellow color just as the sun is setting and a thunder storm is moving in. I love watching the lightening as the bolts shoot across the sky. In a strange way it's almost beautiful. Of course loosing power for about 2.5 seconds was an exciting bonus for the night. It would have been better if it had lasted a few hours instead of seconds. I'm not sure why losing power always excites me, but it adds a little something extra to the excitement a thunderstorm already gives me.

I hope you had an enjoyable day & I hope you've been enjoying summer as well!

One Nation under God

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:35:00 +0000

Happy 4th of July! I hope you day was filled with joy,

fireworks, parades, BBQ, picnics, and family gatherings.

***

Proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died to give that right to me.

Pottermore

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:53:00 +0000

More info:

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2011/6/23/pottermore-announcement-details-on-j-k-rowlings-next-harry-potter-project

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2011/6/23/full-text-from-j-k-rowling-pottermore-press-conference

http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/4467

http://www.pottermore.com/

I'm pretty excited :). I hope it's as cool as it sounds.

I thought Harry Potter was ending forever after the movie comes out in July.
And I was really sad about it.

I'm so glad that JK Rowling is awesome and is giving us more!

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Reasons to LOVE summer:

1. Warm

2. Sunny

3. Happy

4. Vacations

5. No school

6. Most of my friends are now back in town :).

7. Less stress.

8. Longer days. (this is probably my favorite part.

9. It isn't pitch black when I get up early for work.

Summer isn't really one of my favorite times of the year, but I think I did a pretty good job at looking at the positive side of things :). I am not really a huge fan of the heat, but I do like that it's warmer than in the middle of the winter! I am really sorry guys about this whole blogging thing. It is my goal to get back into it. Hopefully I haven't lost all of my readers....

happy

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:31:00 +0000

I have been neglecting this blog.

Often I have much to say, but when it comes time to sit down and write it out...nothing comes. I type, then delete, then type again. It goes back and forth until I either give up or hit that moment where the ice breaks and the words flow.

I don't always know how to get what I am thinking out and down on paper. Or in this case, on the screen. I'm afraid sometimes. Afraid that my thoughts sound stupid, or that I'll completely fail at getting my thoughts and feelings out in words. Somehow I've slipped into worrying about how others see me or think of me.

I need to work on not caring so much. I need to work on not caring at all. I want to be completely happy with who I am. I just need to decide that I am happy with who I am.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:31:00 +0000

fairy tale week.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:24:00 +0000

One of my very very very favorite things are fairy tales.

I love them so much.

Which is why I thought that this last week was pretty much awesomeness.

The prince and princess got married

and the villain was defeated.

How often does something like that really happen?

no, i'm not a Bieber fan

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:30:00 +0000

I may not understand the Bieber fever that is sweeping the nation these days but this song makes me feel like dancing every time I hear it.

dragons & darkness.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:56:00 +0000

Dean: ...I've got a 5 year plan.
Rory: 5 years? Cool... I've got about the next 2 and a half hours planned... then there's just darkness... and possibly some dragons.

I love what Rory says in response to Dean's 5 year plan comment. My future is darkness too. Sometimes I find Gilmore girls totally relate-able. There are some pretty awesome quotes that definitely describe me or how I'm feeling at the moment to a T.

mixed feelings.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:32:00 +0000

Me Tonya and Allie spent one last night together before Allie leaves for her mission.

I don't know how I feel about it.

I'm so proud of Allie and excited for her to be able to go out and serve the Lord,

but I'll miss her.

It felt kind of weird knowing that this was the last time I'd see her or hear her voice for 18 months.

I will definitely be writing plenty of letters to her :).

[here is where I'd post one of the pictures of us together that we've taken the last few days, but I don't have them. They are in Tonya's camera and she is a slacker and doesn't give them to me. But stay tuned for pictures k?]

♥

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:03:00 +0000

I know that my redeemer lives!

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, he lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my ever living head!

He lives to comfort me when faint;

He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.

He lives to silence all my fears;

He lives to wipe away my tears;

He lives to calm my troubled heart;

He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend;

He lives and loves me to the end;

He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing;

He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!

***

I am so grateful that my savior loves me enough to die for me. He suffered in the garden for me. He has felt every pain and sorrow I have and will ever feel. That's so hard for me to grasp sometimes. The only way I can think to describe how I feel is through these lyrics:

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,

That he should extend his great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet

This knowledge is the only way I have gotten through life's trials. I know that my savior is always there for me, no matter what.

Happy Easter!

Pictures via google.

new mexico trip.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:45:00 +0000

Every year my mom's side of the family has a family reunion. My mom is the youngest of 8 children, so these family reunions are rather large and I almost always meet some relative I seriously didn't know I had. Because my mom is the youngest me and my siblings are the youngest grandkids. As a result I mostly grew up with my second cousins rather than my first cousins. Sometimes sitting there and listening to all the fun my cousins had growing up around each other I feel almost distant. I wish I could have grew up around all those cousins. It sounds like it was so much fun. Instead I grew up years later when most of my cousins were having their own children. We also live in a different state than most of my family, which means I only ever really see them once a year at our annual reunion. This year for our reunion we had a birthday part for my grandma, because she turned 90. It was fun to see her so happy and we had a very good turn out, not only family but other people who have known my grandma.

It was also my uncle Dwight's birthday as well as my cousin Steph's.

The Grandkids that were there

The Great grandkids that were there

me and my grandma, my name sake :)
(her name is Mega which is where my parents got the idea for Megan)

my mom's brothers & grandma

my mom & her sisters & my grandma.

all my mom's living siblings & grandma.

It was a really fun trip. I miss being there and seeing my grandma and cousins. We're going back in June though, so that's not too far off :).

I definitely had fun taking pictures on the way home. There are a plethora of them. If you thought I've posted a lot of pictures so far, I have tons more from this trip. I'll spare you and not post all of them though. I'll just give you the high lights.

We spent part of a day in Durango, Colorado and I found this key chain in a store there. It turns colors in the sun! How cool is that!?

i had a little fun with the camera. hey, it's a long drive.

we all look like that 8 hr drive is just oh so fun, don't we

spring has arrived.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:18:00 +0000

It is finally spring around here. :D& as a result I have made some spring time changes to my blog.♥

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:34:00 +0000

stay tuned.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:51:00 +0000

I'm back & I have pictures coming up! So keep checking back. I forgot how colorful Utah is after spending a week in New Mexico which is pretty brown and full of dirt ha ha. But, it was warmer there so that was nice :). The party for my grandma's 90th birthday was a success! It was fun to see so much family and it made Grandma so happy :D.

♥ :)

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:15:00 +0000

I love you!

♥♥♥

?

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:12:00 +0000

"Love life, What's that?"

-He is We

{Ya, that's what I'm saying. What's a love life?}

Lorelai put it best when she said:

"It's all any of us wants-- to find a nice person to hang out with till we drop dead. Not a lot to ask."

-Lorelai Gilmore [Gilmore Girls]

{Seriously. It's not a lot to ask...haha}

sister missionary

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:39:00 +0000

Okay, first of all, who's bright idea was it to make flavored pills!

I just took some cold medicine and the pills are flavored.

Seriously, disgusting. I practically gagged on it. Gross.

Am I the only one who is bothered by this?

***

Anyway, my friend Allie is going on a mission in just a few weeks. Crazy how soon she'll be gone. It's sad :(. I will miss her. We went on a photo shoot today to get some "mission pictures" taken. She wanted me to take some so that she could scrapbook them. We didn't get a whole lot taken because the weather decided to hate us. It's kind of hard to take pictures in the wind. It kept threatening to rain as well. But, we ended up with a few good pictures.

:)

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:42:00 +0000

I love conference weekend.

Plus I had work off both Saturday and Sunday. So that was a bonus.

What better way to spend the weekend than to be able to learn about Christ & His gospel ♥.

I love that there are two days dedicated to listening to the Prophets and Apostles

testify of Christ, twice a year. It is truly a blessing.

Metathesiophobia

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:28:00 +0000

[fear of change]

I tend to get attached really easily. To people, places, things, and mostly just the way things are. I get comfortable and it makes it really hard when things start changing. In fact, saying I get attached is basically an understatement. I mean seriously, I almost get attached to the customer I had a nice conversation with while I'm ringing them up at work. Sad, I know. When I get attached to something or someone, I really mean I get attached. It seems like when I get attached to someone or something, it's gone before I know it. In a lot of ways it's like those customers at work. Some of them I can't stand to be honest, but then there are those who I have a nice conversation with and for a second there is that connection and then seconds later it's "OK, have a nice day" and they're gone. I usually never see them again. It seems that way with everything. I came in contact with really awesome people at school and sometimes they'd only be around for a semester and then they'd move onto the next thing in life. And of course I got attached and it felt like they'd be around forever and that we'd be friends forever, but in what seems like two seconds...It's all gone. And in reality, I don't talk to a lot of those people again. It's sad. I mean, there are those few who I still talk to but it's really only a few of them. I work in retail. There are very few people who are permanently working as a cashier. We go through employees like crazy it seems like. In the past two years I've had my job I worked with quite a few different people. I like and have liked 99% percent of the people I have worked with. I think there are only a couple of people I could seriously live without, but for the most part I really like the people I work with. It's sad when they come and go like they do. It's constantly changing and I'm not a fan of it. But I guess you could say I'm getting used to it. It does tend to make things a little bit more interesting.. .right? And I guess if there wasn't change I wouldn't have met all the different people I have had the privileged of meeting. Change is a part of life, no matter how much I hate it. I'm learning to handle it. Maybe by the time I'm old and feeble I'll have learned to live with it, but for now, I still prefer things to stay still for a while.

n.i.n.t.e.y

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:33:00 +0000

Next week I will be leaving for New Mexico.

I'm really excited to be able to get out of town! I need a vacation.

I haven't had a real vacation for a while... so it's overdue.

The reason for this trip is our family reunion, which also happens to be my grandmothers birthday.

It's the big one. She is turning

90 yrs young.

this is an older picture of her. It's back from 2008 so it's a few years old.

you've fooled me.

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 05:47:00 +0000

I'm kind of one of those people who thinks of people as being generally good until they've proven otherwise to me. Kind of like the innocent until proven guilty sort of thing. I guess you could say I'm usually a pretty trusting person. I usually think the best of people... which is why it throws me off so bad when people prove me wrong. Especially if it is a friend of mine, someone I've thought highly of and even maybe looked up to. It brings about a confusion of a few different emotions and feelings when someone shows that they are a different person once you really get to know them. I struggle in how I feel about that person afterwards. I feel anger, confusion, disappointment and sadness. Sometimes I feel stupid for overlooking the way a person really is and I feel anger towards them because they have deceived me in a way. But at the same time, I feel sad that they do, think or act in certain ways and I feel bad that I feel so negatively towards them. I sometimes find myself wishing to go back to the time before I knew the truth. Sometimes living in ignorance of things sounds better than knowing the truth. Because the truth of it is, that I never quite view that person the same. Ever again. Obviously people are going to be a little different once we really get to know them. Quirks and habits show themselves and sometimes we discover that our friend has a temper or something. But it's really sad when a person is a completely different person in public than what they are behind everyone's backs. Being a super friendly and caring person in one light and then being a very rude and un-understanding (is that even a word?) person in another is not cool. At all. It's deceitful and wrong. It's with these people that I wish I could just turn back the clocks and go back to thinking that the mask they wear is the truth; that the friendly, understanding person is the one that I know.

I don't know if any of that made sense... I'm just disappointed that they aren't who I thought they were...

be of good cheer

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:40:00 +0000

Today, in sunday school we talked about Matthew chapter 14.

25. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, say
ing, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, sayuing, be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28. And Peter answer him and said, Lord, if it be thoug, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Inserted right there in the pages that contain these verses is a "glue in", a piece of paper I was given by one of my seminary teachers back in high school. It says:

"While [Peter's] eye was fixed on his Lord, the wind might toss his hair, and the spray might drench his robes, but all was well'. Only when with wavering faith he removed his glance from the Master to look at the furious waves and the black gulf beneath him, only then did he begin to sink...

"It is my firm belief that if as individual people, as families, communities, and nations, we could, like Peter, fix our eyes on Jesus, we too might walk triumphantly over the swelling waves of disbelief and remain unterrified amid the rising winds of doubt. But if we turn away our eyes from him in whom we must believe, as it is so easy to do and the world is so much tempted to do, if we look to the power and fury of those terrible and destructive elements around us rather than to him who can help and save us, then we shall inevitably sink in a sea of conflict and sorrow and despair"

I don't know who said it, but it was in a Conference talk in October of 1992. I can truly testify that when we are fixed and focused on the Savior we cannot and will not sink. Those times in my life when I have been focusing the most on my Savior Jesus Christ I know I cannot fail. He is there to comfort me and help me up. Christ said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid". This brings me comfort because I know that I don't need to be afraid when I am focused on Him. He is there to help me in every aspect of my life. When Peter cried out and said "Lord, save me." Christ immediately stretches forth His hand and caught him. The same applies to me and you. When we cry unto the Lord to save us, He will immediately stretch forth His hand and catch us.

I am so grateful that I have an older brother and Savior who is willing to help me and love me unconditionally. No strings attached.

♥

sunlight

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:25:00 +0000

I love light. I love how things look when the sunlight is shining on things. It's beautiful. I can't really describe it. It just makes me happy. I especially like the late afternoon time. I didn't get as many pictures as i would have like to today, but here are a few.

This last photo is my favorite :).

images of today

noreply@blogger.com (megan ann.) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:49:00 +0000

I was lazy today so everything you see here is SOOC [straight out of the camera]. I also think that most of them are also taken in automatic. Dang I really was lazy today, wasn't I?
I was having problems getting everything lined up so I'm sorry if it bothers anyone that my pictures aren't all lined up completely... I'm kind of OCD so it bothers me, but I'm sick of dealing with it so it's just going to have to be off.

Aren't they beautiful. One reason I love living in Utah is the mountains. I wish that I had a zoom lens so that i could have gotten a closer picture of them.

Soon after I began taking photographs it started snowing... for about two seconds. Welcome to Utah, where the weather changes ever 10 minutes.

I really wish the temperature would rise around here...

I also had fun taking pictures of my brother shooting hoops :).