Wow Does Time Pass!!

So here is a little update on my life and how things are going in the great freezing Rexburg! Well the temperature here is by-polar and can never make up its mind so I spend many of times changing and trying to keep my body temperature from freaking out! Amber is getting married in the Salt Lake Temple July 28 to Christian Shaw and I am a bridesmaid so I am spending time putting together a bachalorette party and a fun weekend with just girls down in Utah next month! I leave for Greece in just 2 months and I am so excited to go and learn the things that are taught in the New Testament and also to go to the beaches!!!
Well I decided to come home for the 7 week break to spend time with my family and to make a little money for my trip! So that will be a good break right before my trip!
I have decided not to go to China this Spring, I may just go home in the Winter to work and to take a little break from school ;) haha But life is great and I am enjoying the life of being a young adult! I hope you all are having a great summer
Lots of Love
Shanel!!

What A Semester!!!

So life has been great and so much has happened!!! SO I will start with the trip up too BYU-I! Lets just say it was a long drive but Amber and I made it in 24 hours! We both took turns driving all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We got a hotel ad slept for 5 hours then got up ate breakfast and then headed to Utah. We made it to Provo around 5pm and we stayed with my really good friend Alissa. Amber and I just relaxed and then went out to dinner with Daniel Torres which was a little interesting but it was good seeing him. The next day we hung out with one of my favorite people in the world Aaron!! He picked us up and we went and had a great night out on the town! We went to jump on it, listens to JB(Justin Beiber), then took a drive up to the canyons and danced the night away. It was great.

Well the next day we headed up to Rexburg Idaho. As we entered into rexburg this whoosh of the spirit field the car and Amber and I burst into tears! But it was a great feeling. Well after that we got all my stuff out of storage and put our room together! Well finally Monday all our roommates arrived and it was great to finally meet them.



Well to catch up on the semester a little fast. Amber and I started going on dates and getting to know people but never felt it was right. Heavenly Father and I have decided that I am not supposed to go to China and I need to hit onto my major. He warned me that a lot of changes were going to happen this semester and a lot of changes have happened! Well First off Amber met Christian Shaw and after 3 weeks dating they are getting married July 27 in the Salt Lake temple!!! Crazy right? well the more I see them together the more I can see them being Eternal companions!



I on the other hand am dating Rob Talbert. He is my roommates cousin actually..
Hmmm you might be asking why Robbie? Well lets see him and I have been some what friends since the beginning of the semester. It was great because the night I met him Amber and I were on a date with two guys that were way nice but never had a plan.. So the date wasn't that great.. We stayed at our apartment and Robbie and his friend came over to hang out for a little bit and we started to play this game called signs which turned out to be so much fun! Mostly because Robbie makes everything fun. Well after Stephanie to him home and I told Amber I called dibbs on him.. Not thinking there would be anything between us. I'm just this little 19 year old with big dreams... Well we went through the month hanging out a couple times.. And something just kept drawing me closer to him... I just really liked his personality and how he can always make me laugh and just how sweet he is! Its different when you date a return missionary who is a strong priesthood holder.. It makes life seem more simple, safe and refreshing. Since the day I told Robbie yes I would be his girlfriend, life has been great and I haven't felt that it was wrong. We really just have a chill relationship and just enjoy the time we spend together.



Life is exciting and surprising in so many ways!!
With Amber getting married I feel it is right because but I also will miss her! She is my wing girl and we share everything together!!! I will miss her a lot! I'm not sure how life will be without her here during the fall but she will not be far away... I love her fiance!! He is like family already so it all works!!

I am excited to see what the future holds this last part of this year!!

Catching Up

So I realized I have left out some events that have happened these past 3 weeks before my last post so here is an update.
March 17th Meri Sellers, and Amber Lyman came over to spend the night so we could go to the beach in the morning..
March 18th
Well Amber for got a swim suit so in the morning we went looking for one, then we had to get ice for the ice chest and by then it was lunch so we stopped at Subway to eat.


On the Road again.... haha


Caitlin, Amber, Me, and Meri <3


Amber and I

Well finally we were on our way to Surf Side! It took a lot long then expected but was worth it. It we got there and laid out for a little bit then went out into the water where there were all these little blue jelly fish every where, However the "Mother Jelly fish" went right by Amber and freaked her out!! haha It was pretty funny!



well we ate some food, and laid out a little more. Then we left around 4:30pm because Amber Ashley and I were going to the Singles dance that same night!! Crazy I know.

Well We all got ready at Amber's house and then Franco and Cody picked all of us up and we went and ate at PF Chang's which I love! However after wards my stomach hurt.. I really don't get why my stomach doesn't like Chinese food.. Well we got to the dance and had fun met some new people, actually that's where Amber and I met Michael.. and then we left and I went home because I was so tired.



Well I got up for church the next day and went to Singles, after church we had the lunch and mingle and Michael and I got a chance to talk and we ended up hangout the next Thursday .

March 24th
Megan and I had a fun adventure to the orthodontist which we was late for but got in! Then we were frazzled so we went to Fazolis and got some food. We then went to the Stake Center to watch Michael, Esteban and some guys from our ward play basketball. Singles ward won and are off to play-offs! haha so funny.. Well we then left and went to Michael's house to watch the BYU vs Florida Gator's, BYU lost but got really far. Then we went to Esteban's house where Michael played me at pool and I beat him pretty bad..... haha jk I stink at pool but like to play! He beat me pretty bad, so the deal was I owed him some Strawberry Blue Bell Ice Cream.. haha well we watched transformers Megan had to go home half way through, and Michael took me home after the movie. It was pretty fun..
March 26
I didn't set my alarm so I got up at 1pm! For once and just relaxed the whole day, I then drove all the way to Kingwood for a "POOL Party" haha it was actually a birthday party but some of us went into the pool. Then we dried off and went and played some games.. Well eventually Michael and I left and we went to his Sisters to watch a movie, we just chilled and watched "Dan in Real Life" Such a funny movie..
March 27
Well I woke up and got ready for church and went singles with Megan! Brother and Sister Chapel were released from Bishop and Brother Parker took his place! It was pretty sad for everyone. However Brother Parker will do a great job! Well after church they had break the fast which was break fast themed and I don't really like break fast food so Meri and I just got some OJ and sat down well I should never have sat down first because as soon as I did all these guys sat down and if one would get up another would slide right on in haha Michael just laughed and sat right across from me texting me and laughing... Well Finally Michael, Stephanie, and Esteban left to go to my house to have dinner! Which was good, we watched Avatar which was pretty long and Michael slept through most of it.. haha Well then we left and went to family they knew from their home ward! They were very funny and crazy! We played card games and oh my goodness are they into their card games! well then we watched Empires New Groove! One of my favorites and lets just say that I know every single word haha..
Well that was my crazy week/weekend and I have another crazy 2 weeks to go!!! Good luck to me haha

A really awesome day

So yesterday I woke up and helped my dad fixes my brakes on my Honda and then finished getting ready to go get Lizzie for her first lesson with the missionaries. Well I left and picked up Lizzie and her 1 1/2 year old Bella. as we drove over there we talked and she just told me that she was really nervous but that she was able to get read the Book of Mormon stories to Bella and they got through 25 pages! Awesome! So we get they and we meet the missionaries at the Conroe Chapel. They talked to her about the restoration and answered a lot of her questions that she had. After about an hour they finished up the lesson and took us around the ward building to show Lizzie what to expect when she came to church next Sunday! One the way home she would just say "For the first time in my life I don't have to know something completely to know it is true!" I told her that Heavenly Father had me come home for this semester for many reason and one of them were for her. That when I started talking to her December 2009 that I have never felt the Holy Ghost so strong and the love that Heavenly Father has for her! She kinda cried a little and we talked some more. When I dropped her off she said" Shanel I am really Happy you came home". I just smiled and said "me too".
Well after that spiritual high I went over to Amber and Ashley Lyman's house to help them figure out their classes and what to do. So I showed them everything and how to do it and we all talked for a little bit and then I had to run home.
I ran home and got ready to go out with Michael. He is a returned missionary that served in Las Vegas. He just got back 24 days ago haha. Well it was a lot of fun. We went and ate at Chili's which was pretty good. We got to talk about our families and how very similar they are in some ways. We then went to Main Event and played air hockey, which I won both times haha so then we went and played some shooting games which he beat me pretty good at. We went on this "roller coater" ride which was pretty funny because we were way to big for that ride. haha Well after that we went to Berry Pop over by the water way and he had his first frozen yogurt! Then we went and sat down by the water fountains and just talked. It was pretty funny and interesting to talk to him. He is definitely a guy who knows what he wants, and doesn't care what others think of him. We are complete opposites but have similar goals in life. But it was a great night.
Being home I have learned a lot and have met a lot of people. It has been fun and exciting, and a little frustrating at times but I am ready to head back to school and to have a whole lot more fun! I am pretty excited to see what this semester holds for me.

Such a Wonderful Day

So today started off like any other day, I got up at 6 am to go to work and I soon realized that I was working with Lizzy!!! She is always fun to work with and we get along great. But today was a very special day to me! Because she talked to me about the Book of Mormon again! She said she has been reading a little here and there with her 1 year old daughter and that she has been searching for a religion to raise bella in. She wants some guiadance for her baby girl and for her to grow up with values! Lizzy is a girl that went to church with me once and took the first discussion but I don't think she was quiet ready.. And now that she has been searching for her self she see's the light! We talked all morning about the church and she asked certain questions and deep question that you usually dont tell an investigator, but she completly understands it! She told me that out of all the religions she has researched and been to ours seems the most right! and Oh how my heart sank when she said that! She told me that it was through me that she became interested and I showed her that "Mormons" aren't crazy haha.. She even has a friend that is a little anti-mormon because of things that have gone down in her life but she says she new what her friend was sayig was wrong because of what I have taught her!!! Wow how awesome to be told that! So she told me she wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into and so I said well the missionaries are perfect for that! I asked if she minded if I gave her address to the missionaries and she said "that would be great"! So I got all of her information and then went to the book store to get her some fun books to read with Bella so she could learn the Book of Mormon better! By my surprise all these missionaries where there and my mom asked if any of them were from Conroe they all said no and then a man steped out and said I have the numbers to the conroe missionaries!! I said awesome!! So he gave me their numbers and when I got home I called them and gave them all the information! They were sooooo excited and so was I! Well after all that Lizzy texted me back and said thank you for helping her out and that she would like to go to church but she was a little scared.. I asked if she wanted me to go with her and she said yes please!!! So next week we will be going to church!! I am sooo excited and ready! I am so amazed at how Heavenly Father has a time and place for everything! It is just so awesome! I am grateful for all that he does in my life and for the blessings he puts in my life!!
Well hopefully I will keep bring on the good news!!
Shanel

Catching Up!!

So Feburary I should say started with a "Freeze" hahah Feb 4th I woke up to a mini winter wonderland! and lots of ice! The whole city shut down bascially, school was cancelled and I got to relax for a few days...It was way to cold though to even want to go out side!!!



Dog's water bowl completly frozen!!



Well The Super Bowl was amazing because guess what? Geen Bay was playing!!! That is my dad and I's team, and I even guessed the winning score 31 to 27!! Boom baba We spent FHE at the Geddies that night and we all got to watch the game in the living room, it was pretty funny especially with my dad and I yelling at the team, Daniel and my dad yelling at the tv... I would say it was a great FHE haha








Last night was a blast because I had a girls night with Megan Duiguid and Mari! We had a lot of fun, watch Valentine's Day, and You Again!!! "ooo Kitty likes to scratch" haha best line "Hi" from Charlie and the rehersal dinner haha.. We had chocolate covered Oreo's new favorite dessert!!! m&m's, Sour Gummy Life savers, reeses, dove chocolate and dont for get the bridle magazines haha such great times!!! Well I ended up going home after we were done..




And yeah Life is going great!!!

Jessica Got Her YW Madallion!

Look at that beautiful Necklace



My little sister Jessica at age 14 got her Young Women's Medallion! I am so proud of her! She worked very hard to finish all the things required for each Value! She is an amazing girl with a huge testimony of the gospel and church!

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, Who loves us and we love him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places as we strive to live the young women values whicch are:
Faith
Devin Nature
Individual Worth
knowlege
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity
And Virtue

=)


Girls being silly


Jessica and her big Sis!