The End of Thanksgiving Break

So being here in Salt Lake has been a blast!! And I have done a lot since I have been here. So after Caitlin and I GOT DONE IN Provo we went to Salt Lake to be with her Aunt Marka and Uncle Kent1 They are the sweetest people I have ever met and they feed us 4 course meals pretty much every 2 hours!! No joke! It was awesome and filling haha.. Well We had thanksgiving with them and there 2 sons. We all helped with Thanksgiving dinner, which was pretty amazing!! There was alot of food.. Well after we cleaned up and could hardly breath because how stuffed we were, Casey Brown, Caitlin and I went down stairs in the hall way put our feet up on the wall and just relaxed! Then we got a little crazy haha it was fun.. Well Aaron decided to stop by on his way home from his sisters and Caitlin, Aaron and I all just sat down talking about his mission and funny stories it was great.. Besides Caitlin making fun of me... Not funny..









Well Thursday morning was awesome because we woke up at 6:30 am to go to the Salt Lake temple to do baptism!! The Salt Lake temple took over 40 years to complete and the detail in that temple is pretty amazing, are wood work, the design.. It is un like any of the other temples I have been in.. Well I also got someone that has been wait since 1632 to have this work done for them!! How amazing and how awesome that I was the one who helped that lady get these things done for her... Well after doing that I just kept thinking about how awesome it will be to go into the Salt Lake Temple endowed and to be able to have full understanding of the temple! God definitely teaches Women of the church patience by having us wait.. But it is definitely worth it!
Well after that we all went and changed and then went over to Amy's house and go to make chocolates and candy!! Homemade!! The Merrill family has been making chocolates and candy for over 50 years the week of Thanksgiving! They have all of the family come over and help especially grandma who started this tradition when she was relief society president and planned an activity for the women and they made chocolates. The family gets over 60lb of chocolate, all kinds of nuts, and fruit. and it is truly amazing to see it all come together. You might ask why do they make so much sweets! Well they put it together for different families they know and hand them out at Christmas time! It is awesome and a fantastic tradition!









Well after doing that for 2 days I got a break from it when Aaron invited me to go to the temple with him to look around and take a couple of tours!! So he picked me up and we went to the conference center where he got a tour of the new conference center!! It is pretty amazing and is one of the largest theaters in the world! We got to see original art work by pictures we have seen our whole life being raised in the church! Well after that we just went and walked around the Salt Lake temple and just talked, went into the visiting centers and went and saw the statue of Jesus! We just sat there talking about the universe and how amazing it is! Of course I love talking about that because of how big of nerd I am =) Well we drove back to Amy's house and then went to Dan's house for our date we made french bread pizza and had garlic bread! that was pretty good. We joked around, the guys told funny stories from their mission it was great! We then we to the Temple again and walked around to see the Christmas Lights!! That was pretty fun! However it was so cold, I couldn't feel my legs, my toes or even my face by the time we were done! It was pretty funny.. Well then we drove back to Amy's house for Hot chocolate which was great =) Aaron had to leave so I said bye and then the rest of us went down stairs and just talked and goofed around! I was pretty tired by the end of the night..




And today we woke up went to church and now just relaxing at Aunt Marka's again until we leave to go back to the brutally cold Rexburg... Only 3 weeks till I'm back in Texas I can't wait!!! I have realized I really do not like snow except for the first couple of days!! haha Well this trip has been awesome but time to get back to the real world!!

Thanksgiving in Utah

So sadly I will not be going to Texas for Thanksgiving but I am with my very best roommate Caitlin and her family in Provo and Salt Lake. So we left Thursday and Caitlin's friend Jewels drove us to Provo. It was a nice drive only took about 3 hours.




we finally got to Caitlin's older sister Erin's apartment. It was nice to be out of the car and to walk around. Well then Aaron Mendoza came over and we went for a walk and just talked for a little bit. It was really nice to see him after 7 months!!! Well then Caitlin and I went to sleep and got up and got ready for the day.. We went and explored and walked around campus it was pretty fun, we went to the BYU book store and looked at books for about 2 hours.. Yes we are nerds haha and yes we were in the Science section looking at books haha it was awesome!! Well then Erin met up with us and we went to the Creamery and got some delicious Ice Cream!!! Then after that we went back to Erin's place and just relaxed and then I went and hung out with Aaron! Went and saw Magda mind in 3D,which was hilariously funny! Then Aaron and I went and ate at 5 guys which was really good. After that we went back to his place and watched Ace Vachura which was even more funny, then Richard, Aaron's friend, wanted to hang out so we went with them driving around, and then stopped at a park with this swing that had 4 swings and swung around, as we swung around it turned! It didn't work that great so we went to the playground and then walked around the pond skipping rocks..


It was pretty fun! Then we drove around for a while and then Richard took me "home" (Erin's place. Then I went to sleep... Well the next day was very exciting we woke up got ready to go see the New Harry Potter Movie!!! Well Megan came by and Caitlin and Megan made these delicious Pumpkin Ice Pancakes, it was really good! We didn't have milk so they got creative!! Well Aaron stopped by for a little bit then left, and then the girls headed to HP it was awesome we all piled in we all sang the whole way there!! Then we all got excited waiting in line and the Cate, Jocelyn, and Caitlin went and took a picture with Harry Potter =)









Way cute then we all took pictures with the posters haha well after that intense movie we went to IN AND OUT which is soooooo good I have missed that place! Well it was Erin's first time being there so we got her a hat and everything it was awesome!


Well Aaron came by and picked me up and we went back to his place till Richard was ready to go bowling! So we watched Aladdin until Richard got there well bowling was pretty fun, Aaron walking his strut every time he got a strike haha and Richard beating us! It was a lot of fun!





Well then we went and drove around, and then went to Spoon Me, A tart ice cream place, it was really good! then went back to Aaron's house and played Blounko's, which was really funny because I beat Aaron 3 times.. He wasn't to happy about that haha, then we decided to watched Step up 2 which was fun.. Well I fell asleep and Aaron woke me up and then took me home!! Well then Caitlin and I got up at 3 in the morning to go to Salt Lake to Caitlin's Aunt and Uncles house, why so early you are asking well it was because Erin had to be at the airport early so they just dropped us off on the way!! Well I woke up to go to church at 8am we went with Amy to one of her friends homecoming talk which was really good, but I was so tired it was hard for me to stay awake.. Well then we went to her friends house to have food and mingle, which was really good! We talked with Danny's dad for a little bit then went to the Singles ward where they were having Nacho's and so forth then finally came home and had some amazing Sloppy Joe's! Yes I do not like Sloppy Joe's but Caitlin's Uncle makes some amazing Sloppy Joe's. After that Caitlin and I were ready to Hibernate for a few hours so we went and took a nap. We woke up at 6 pm and went over to Amy's to watch a movie which was fun then came home and went to sleep again!!
Well today was pretty fun, Caitlin and I got to sleep in till about 10 am and then got ready before Caitlin's Aunt got home to take us home to Temple Square! First we went to the Church History Library where Caitlin's aunt is a missionary!! We got to go and take a tour of the facility; it is truly amazing to see what the church has set up for us and our family history! In the place you can see journals, attendances rolls, magazines, books, pictures, and etc from all over the world about family members! It was really fun to see all of that! Then Caitlin and I went to the Salt Lake temple and walked around the temple and took some amazing pictures! I think it is interesting to be on such a spiritual grounds and Satan trying to put dumb songs in your head that you weren't even thinking before then! So Caitlin and I would start singing Hymns which helped a lot! Well once we got around the temple Sean, Caitlin's Cousin, met up with us and then went and took a tour with us of the new conference center which was amazing to see the facility and how big it is, to go on the roof and see the temple right across the street and to see all the original art work that we have seen our whole lives in manuals and in the church. Well after that we went to the Lion's House to eat dinner with Caitlin's Uncle and Aunt! Then we came home and now making Sloppy Joe's for her uncles thing tomorrow!! Lots of fun!!



























I will continue the Journey as the week goes! But here is a update in my life!
Shanel