What A Week.

Let me tell you about the last couple of weeks.

The pool is open and so nice to go and relax in on a hot day. If you live in Arizona I think it is a must to have a pool. Especially during the summer. The heat is extreme here.

Last Friday at practice I rolled my left ankle pretty bad. My coach carried me into the training room because I couldn't walk. We have really good trainers here and they took care of me. Friday until Sunday I had to have my ankle wrapped and use crutches. Crutches are the worst thing in the world. I feel like I can't do anything with them, and they hurt to use. But I had to use them because I for sure couldn't walk. Saturday I got treatment and did a little rehab. On Sunday I went into the trainers and got my ankle worked on. I also got rid of the crutches. I walked out of there with a limp but I could walk on my own. We had a big match against Mesa on that Tuesday and I had to play. I was doing whatever it took to be able to walk and play on Tuesday. The first thing that went through my mind after I sprained my ankle was that I wouldn't be able to play on Tuesday. We had already lost to Mesa before, if I was out we would automatically be down 2 games from the start. I didn't want that to happen. Monday was a rough practice, I had my ankle taped in a way that I couldn't move it. I needed to be out to practice so I would know what it would be like to play. Tuesday came and I was ready to go. Ankle got taped to the extreme and I headed out to warm up before our big match. Long story short...we lost again to Mesa 3-6. My partner and I lost our doubles match, and then I also lost my singles match. It was rough playing and not being able to move my left ankle but I adjusted and did what I could. I tried to play as if nothing was wrong. Mind over matter. Even though I lost I played well with my injuries. Coach even told me that she thought I played really well and ran and played harder than she expected me too. That made me feel really good. It was tough to know that we had lost again though. That wasn't suppose to happen. We were suppose to be the undefeated team. We are now in second place headed into regionals. Regionals are next week and we are working even harder so we come out on top again this year.

The day that I rolled my ankle, my friend came over and brought her dog to visit me and see how I was doing. She is one of the assistant trainers and helped me out after I had rolled my ankle. Tank her dog is so cute and jumped right up on me to say hi then cuddled with me after.

On the left is what my ankle looked like on Sunday I believe it was. Doesn't look too bad. Still can see some swelling under my ankle bone and along the bottom of my foot. On the right is what it looked like on Wednesday. It almost looks worse because of the bruising but it's not to bad. Still gets sore and tired, but it doesn't hurt to walk. Don't mind my tan line, I get comments on it all the time. More people notice my tan line than my bruising when I'm in the training room.

I have to do a lot of rehab to get my ankle back to full strength and range of motion. But I am working hard.

This week I also became an aunt again! My cute little niece was born on Monday. Her name is Tennessee and I can't wait to meet her!

A Close To Spring Break.

Spring Break is coming to a close. What a joy it has been not having to wake up to an alarm, do homework, wear clothes, and eat at a normal time. Every college students dream right? Tomorrow my alarm will begin to chime at 8am. I will crawl to the opposite end of my bed to turn it off and lay there awkwardly while I try to talk myself out of getting up. The angel on the right side of my shoulder always prevails. Around 8:55am my roommate and I will climb in the car to head to our first class together. Once that happens there is no going back. Goodbye spring break, and the count down until summer begins.

On Saturday, three of my teammates and I went to a spring training baseball game. It was the White Sox against the Padres. It was awesome! I love baseball so much. I love the atmosphere at the ball park and the assortment of people there. I would love to have season tickets to watch my favorite team. It was a fun day to say the least.

"Though miles may lie between us, 

We are never far apart,

For friendship doesn't count the miles, 

It's measured by the heart."

This quote couldn't be more true with the friendship that I have with two amazing girls. One lives in New York, and the other is back home in Utah. While we are all living in different states, that doesn't stop us from communicating everyday with each other via group text messages and frequent voice and phone calls. I believe it was a blessing that we all became best friends. We have yet to be all in the same place at once, but when summer time hits, that will change. We may have our differences but that is what brings us closer together. These girls are always there for me. Our conversations make me smile everyday. These girls were definitely a blessing in disguise and I truly believe that this friendship will last forever. Nothing makes me more happier than knowing that I have the greatest friends in the world. 

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

Spring Break.

Spring break is upon us here at little ole Eastern Arizona College. What joy that brings to us students. While some travel to Mexico or California to get away and enjoy being young and reckless, others are left to fend for themselves in the tiny boring town of Thatcher. One of those people would be yours truly. You won't hear me complaining though. Yes, I had been without roommates or a car from Saturday to Monday, but having the house to myself was amazing to say the least.

Being alone has given me the chance to clean the entire house, my room and bathroom excessively. If I was going to be staying here for 9 days, I wanted to be in a clean, organized house. Not that I don't already live in a pretty clean house, but I could now clean without people disagreeing with what I'm doing or getting in my way.

On Sunday I started reading My Story, by Elizabeth Smart. I walked up to the football field to enjoy the great weather and began reading. Today (Tuesday) I finished it. I almost finished reading it on Sunday but completed my night by doing some other things instead. This is the first book that I have completed in less than three days. I've never read a book that fast. Reading her book, her life, her nine months of fear and torture left me speechless. My mom wouldn't say I was speechless though. Within those three days of reading, I think I talked on the phone with her three times and each time I told her about the book. I would end up reading excerpts from the book out loud to her, describe what was going on, and give my views. She no longer needs to have this book placed on hold because I pretty much told her the whole story over the phone. My apologies mother. But I have never read such an emotional, gut wrenching, amazing, spirited book. I often felt guilty every time I would turn the page and continue to read. I didn't want to know what Elizabeth Smart went through, but I also couldn't stop myself from entering her world with every word that I read. Within the last page of her story, I began to think how long nine months really was. I thought of my own life living here in Arizona by myself with no family near by. I live here nine months out of the year to go to school and play tennis. December is the only time that I really travel home to see my family for the holidays. Every day I am either going to school, playing tennis or chilling at home. Elizabeth Smart spent most of her time siting in a makeshift camp with her abductors. For nine months she survived hell. Nine months is a really long time. Her family never gave up hope in finding her, and I hope my family never would either if I went missing. Elizabeth Smart is a blessed person to say the least. She has an amazing spirit and faith about her.

Today was spent watching our baseball team play. They played a double header and their first game started at noon. From noon until 4:30pm, Sally, Shiann, and Sonora (two friends of ours), and I sat out in the sun and watched some baseball. Between games we ate some lunch and then Sally and I brought out our inner gymnast skills. We began by doing handstands and cartwheels, but that wasn't satisfying our creative minds. Sally had the brilliant idea that she would do a back bend and then I would attempt to stand on her stomach. I felt I would not be able to do that without her crumbling downward. So I took the difficulty down a level and just stepped on her thighs. Towards the end, since I was wearing socks, I began sliding off of Sally. It made very a good dismount if I do say so myself.

About a month ago I saw this picture on Facebook that a page I follow posted. "Humans of New York" is the name of the page. So one night I talked Sally into trying to do this with me in our living room. Our first couple of tries weren't very successful. Since then we have practiced a couple of times. Today I believe we mastered it...after few failed attempts first.

This is the original pose...let this soak in. Then prepare to be amazed.

                 Eh...not quite there...                                                                  A little too far...

Ahh perfect.

Five more days of this fabulous break to relax and think to myself how beautiful life is. I have been blessed with an amazing family, two incredible best friends who I text everyday and video chat with frequently, one best friend/sister serving in the Army who I miss dearly, and a life worth living. Hope keeps me moving forward to a greater future. The struggles may persist, but I am strong enough to overcome and push through the dark clouds to view the sun shining above. I am like a Wolf. The wolf symbolizes free will, the ability to escape, unity and toughness. Since wolves are also related to dogs, they also represent loyalty and friendship. My family and friends are my pack. Together we work as one.

"Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it."

"Click"

It's time to begin, isn't it?

I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit

I'm just the same as I was

Now don't you understand?

I'm never changing who I am

It's Time - Imagine Dragons

Tennis Season Has Begun.

Tennis season has officially begun. I play #4 singles and 2nd doubles with Kenna. We traveled to Texas again this year for a tournament. 15 hrs, 12 passenger van, 6 girls + 2 coaches = Long, boring, minimal stops, cramped drive to Texas. We are always excited about the drive..... Playing games and jamming to music is a must throughout the drive. Together as a team we can laugh our heads off and begin crying about the stupidest things. But we don't care, we are having fun. My team bonds so well. Coaches are grateful for that. It would be rough having a team that doesn't get along at all.

Here's a few things that I learned from out trip to Texas this year.

1. Without thinking about it, I took a photo of myself each year that we went to Texas. Last year is on the left, this year is on the right. Early in the morning, almost the same face, wearing the same hoodie, I did happen to wear those Scooby Doo boxers to bed this year but changed out of them before the photo. Funny how some things never change.

 2. Sally sleeps a lot during the drive. She also sleeps in very awkward positions.

3. Kindra and Patty always share a seat and both lay parallel with it while they sleep. Kindra seemed to like to cuddled right up to Patty's feet. So adorable, just like they were her teddy bear. 

 4. Kenna seems to sleep really weird, or have weird dreams. On the drive home from Texas she grabbed a hold of the seatbelt and pulled it all the way to the end to where it automatically locks as it goes back and she got her hands wrapped up and stuck in the seatbelt. While her hands were stuck in the seatbelt she threw her head off the seat and slept like that for a minute before she woke up and got freaked out by how she was.

Patty and Pauline both sleep normal so I don't have any funny pictures of them. As a team though, we look pretty swell.

We played three schools total. Collin College, Tyler JC, and Seminole State College, We lost as a team against both Collin (score 5-4), and Tyler (9-0). Collin College is ranked #3 and Tyler is #1. As a team we did beat Seminole (7-2). We played great and had fun in Texas. In May we will be back in Texas for our National Tournament. Luckily we are flying, not driving.

We made a trip to Target after our dinner at Olive Garden. Sally and I got bored while coaches were shopping and the other girls were out and about. So we made ourselves comfortable in some display chairs. Coaches didn't even care.

In our regular season we have played 4 matches so far. We beat Paradise Valley (9-0), beat Pima (8-1) and dominated Glendale (9-0). Glendale's team only has 4 players. So only our top four girls played. We recently played Mesa and lost to them. I'm just going to leave it at that. 

My teammates and I went the Gilbert Temple open house a couple of weeks ago. Only Sally, Kenna and I are LDS so it was fun to take Patty and Pauline to see what the temple is like. Kindra had work that weekend so she wasn't able to join us and she was sort of upset. She really wanted to see the temple. (Don't ask me why in this first photo Sally has her leg weird...)

After going to the Temple we all went to a Phoenix Suns basketball game. It was $5 for college students! We thought that was a steal. Granted our seats were at the very top. No joke...top row nose bleed. We had a lot of fun! Great day in Phoenix with my team for sure.

Last weekend I puppy sat for my friend. She has a puppy pitbull. His name is Tank. He is so cute. We went and watched the baseball and softball teams play. It was a little chilly and started to rain. I tried to keep Tank warm by tucking him into my blanket and then putting him in my jacket at one point because he was shivering from the cold rain.

This weekend I went to Phoenix with a couple of friends (Eliza and Josiah) to go shopping and hang out. It was a lot of fun. I bought an LA Dodgers baseball hat. I love it. They are a favorite team of mine. Eliza is the one who owns Tank. We slept over at my Eliza's parents house. Her dad had just gotten a bloodhound puppy. So adorable. I wanted to take her home. Mom, dad? Can we get one, pleeeaaasssee?! Daisy the bloodhound, Tank the pitbull. I think I talked more to the puppies than Eliza's parents and Eliza and Josiah themselves.

I Am Who I Am.

"Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them." - Veronica Roth (Divergent)