Today I am thankful for hardhats.

p.s. Thanks for telling me that I give good hugs and I look cute :)

Three. Day. Weekend.

So this weekend was great. Three days without work! Fantastic. 

Saturday: 

Cleaning and work around the house 

helped Dad-finally took down the Christmas quilts

Michael and I picked up Josh 

Missionary Mall-I have wonderful friends who are worthy, willing, and ready to serve missions! 

helped Michael's dad-helped him in the yard to get ready for Sunday

Molly came-I love her so much! 

walk in the rain-no shoes, no phones (Josh took them)

Panda Express-Family Feast

accidentally flushed a live fish down the toilet- RIP Lawrence

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: little firecracker

Sonic

Fashion Show with Molly

Sunday: 

Breakfast with family-french toast and bacon 

Young Single Adult ward-amazing lessons on dating and addictions

Michael's farewell-Michael did an amazing job on his talk. I am going to miss him so much but he is going to be an amazing missionary.

lots of food at Michael's house-sloppy joes, strawberries, veggies, desserts

dinner and socializing with my family plus Molly and Josh

drove Josh to Provo

Molly flirting with guys on the freeway-yes, she got a guy's number

movie with Molly and Michael and Kenzee-Princess Bride (one of my all time favorite movies)

Monday: 

Sleep in

big breakfast-Hashbrowns and eggs 

get ready

paint nails and watch Tangled with Molly-pink and orange, blue

lunch-grilled cheese :)

Ikea-ten minutes, how did we do it?

Walmart-plates

Molly leaves :(

BBQ at the Scharffs-What is with this weather?

stop by the Kasteler's-comedy of errors

home again

shed a couple tears

write a blog post

go to bed early-future event

Now I shall go to bed and I will wake up bright and early to go to work!

though hard to you this journey may appear

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
’Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—
All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!

And should we die before our journey’s through,

Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell—
All is well! All is well!

This is my Daddy's favorite hymn. Life is hard but I know that ALL IS WELL and God will never us forsake.

Timer starts . . . . . .

. . . . . . NOW

Day One

Boots.
    Orange vest.
         Gloves.
              Ponytail.
                   Hard hat.
                        Safety glasses.
                             Brooms.
                                  Bucket.
                                       Scraper.
                                            Honey Bucket.
                                                 Lunch.
                                                      Trailer.
                                                           University of Utah. :P
Work.

I'm Going There Someday

48 hours.

8 temple trips.

7 different temples.

101 names.

Incredible.

Provo, Utah

Mount Timpanogos, Utah

Oquirrh Mountain, Utah

Jordan River, Utah

Bountiful, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Draper, Utah

I love to see the temple.

I’ll go inside someday.

I’ll cov’nant with my Father;

I’ll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

the best feelings in the world.

warm rain on your face.  
when your stomach drops on a big roller coaster.
seeing improvement as a result of your teaching.  
when my mom brushes her fingers through my hair.
a new pair of jeans.
climbing into bed after a long productive day.  
a hug from a good friend.  
diving off the block into cool still water.
helping someone in need.
long hot showers.
back massages.  
a big fuzzy blanket.  
hot chocolate running down you throat on a cold day.  
putting on comfy socks.  
the warm summer sun on your skin.  
putting clothes on straight from the dryer.
intertwined fingers.  
the exhaustion of your muscles after a great workout.  
running barefoot through green grass.  
the cool autumn breeze.  
doing something well.
holding a little baby in your arms.  
sand between your toes.  

knowing you made a difference in someone's life.   

so

this

is

what

it

feels

like

White Stuff

What is that white stuff on the ground? Yes, it is snow. Yes, it is May 17th.

Never Grow Up

I miss you.

Today I got a drug test. Results in two days. Cross your fingers. Hah.

Half of the day I wore my dad's huge warm jacket. Tomorrow he will come home.

Dress pants.

Thanks for the popcorn, Tay :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away.

ALASKA=family time June 18-28=can't volunteer+can't go to Richie's farewell :( :( :(

.....sorry Richie

i love my family

Are you Dave's daughter?

Running. Swimming. Something else.

Productivity.

Children's books.

Can I tell you about my weekend?

Sorry if the answer was no, I'm going to anyway.

This weekend was incredible. Why was it so amazing? I will tell you. (Sorry this is going to be long)

Friday: Partyin Partyin YEAH! (Friday-Rebecca Black)
     Well the day started out pretty good. I slept in, ran some errands and stopped at Bethie's house. I love that girlie. I sure do miss her a lot. Then I went home and did a few things including the dishes and packing for the evening. Then I went over to Kenzee's house for the much anticipated BUTTER! (code word for "Richie's surprise birthday party on the Friday the 13th of May, located at Makenzee Kassing's house in Draper, Utah") I got there early to help her set up. Jerrica and Joshua also came early. At 5:00 the guests started to arrive. Ben, Michael, and Caleb, but not in that order. When Richie got there it was sooo happy! Oh goodness I love his smile. He was so surprised and excited that everyone was there. We made hot dogs, opened presents and then got in a water balloon fight. I fared pretty well until AFTER the water balloons were gone. How did that happen? Well Michael Zajac grabbed me and held me down while Richie drenched me with the hose. I screamed and tried getting away but it didn't work. I secretly liked it. ;) Then we got dressed and cleaned up a little bit. The boys all left to Caleb's house so he could get some items. They were gone so long! After us girls got dressed Jerrica and I went into the little playroom where Kenzee's nephew Oliver was watching Winnie the Pooh. He is adorable. I read him some books including Snowmen at Christmas and There are Monsters Everywhere and a couple others. It was so much fun! I love reading to children and I'm pretty sure I was more into the book than he was. After we read a couple books we watched a couple episodes of Winnie the Pooh. Jerrica and I were on the edge of our seats! When the boys got back we ate cake and ice cream. Then we watched the video that Kenz and I put together. It is a movie of all our Freshmen year quotes and pictures. I love it. Then we watched Tangled, of course. Our entire group can quote the entire thing, including all the words to every song. After the movie we all went our separate ways. The boys all slept at Zajac's house, Jer slept at Kenzee's and I slept at my own house. I was exhausted!

Saturday:
     What a day! I woke up at 7:00 AM and quickly got ready. The boys (Richie, Michael, and Caleb) picked me up and we met Jerrica, Taylor, and Kenzee at Hagerman's. We ate unlimited french toast and then drove up to the Draper Temple. I LOVE THE TEMPLE. Kenzee, Jerrica, Caleb, Josh, and I finished before the other three boys I took Caleb and Josh to my house. We decided that we wanted to go help at Sandy Pride Day but the boys had left their clothes in Richie's car. So.....they borrowed my thirteen-year-old brother's clothes. Yes, my brother is 13 and yes, he is 5'10". We went and helped move rocks with my ward. It was awesome to do some service. Then we went back to my house and helped my mom in the yard. She was so grateful! Then we changed and I left to take one of my best friends home. I drove Josh down to Provo where he is staying with his sister and brother-in-law for the next month and a half. His sister, Carrie invited me over for a picnic. It was raining so we had the picnic in her family room. It was a lot of fun! Then we went to the last part of the BYU vs. U of U softball game. (Josh sung the Aggie fight song while BYU was playing theirs. GO AGGIES!) On our way to the game I was reminded that this world is so incredibly small! I can't believe that Ben and I didn't figure out until now that our paths have crossed before! It blows my mind! After the game Josh and I went on a short walk on the campus. It was nice. Then we drove back to his sister's house because he needed to get ready for his date to the high school morp. :) I left. I met my family at Red Lobster and it was delicious and SOOO good to be with my family. Spencer and I went to blockbuster and rented Megamind. It was pretty good! Not as good as Despicable Me like some people said, but I enjoyed it a lot. Then I went and got gelato with my mom and brother. YUM. I got coconut almond and it was delicious! I am definitely a coconut girl. I went home and got ready for bed. Then I talked to a good friend on the phone until I went to sleep.

Sunday:
     Today was great! I woke up and got ready and then ate breakfast with my family. Everyone was so happy and cheerful, especially my dad. :) Then Allison picked me up and we went to the young single adult ward. It was a lot different than the student ward I went to in Logan. There are lots of older people who are like graduated from college and stuff like that! It was fun though and there were a lot more people there than I thought there would be. I went to a "Ward Welcome" and we all introduced ourselves. I said "My name is Lauren Kasteler." and Bishop Moody looks at me and asks, "Dave's daughter? Good family." I am honored to be "Dave's daughter." After the YSA ward was over I went to my home ward because my brother was singing in Sacrament Meeting. After church we had an early dinner of mac and cheese and salad. It was delicious. Then I helped my mom plan our summer vacation. It's still in the works. Then I watched the DVD of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that my dad was involved in. Wow. Again.....SMALL WORLD. Also, the parallels are incredible. And now......I am writing this blog post.

This weekend was great. It was so awesome to see all my friends again and be able to hang out with them. Michael's farewell is in two weeks and the guys will all gradually leave over the next few months. Anyway, that was my weekend. Sorry about the length. I hope you enjoyed :)

p.s. I also got TWO missionary letters this weekend :) :) :)

Chocolate

It was in my car and it melted while I was at Bethie's house. :)

Poison Monday

I'm sitting here in the infusion room with my daddy. What a dismal place. Outside it is dark and rainy. I walked by the puzzle again. WOW. Keen gave me a compliment on my essay. My dad tells me that there are a lot of people here who have read it. I hope it has made a difference in their lives. The cute little old lady is walking around handing out treats. She is always here. My dad is playing with his Xoom. I'm not going to lie, its pretty sweet. I miss my friends in Logan, a couple of them more than others. I'm excited to see them on Friday, Friday, getting down on Friday, looking forward to the weekend, weekend......That song reminds me of them. I live in Sandy now. I'm wearing a USU shirt. The one that was only six dollars at the secret sale. I do miss Logan but I am so happy to be done with school for the summer. SO happy to be back with my family. The little old lady just brought me a cup of water, with lots of ice, my favorite :)

s∙u∙m∙m∙e∙r

No classes

No finals

No school

Home

Sunshine

Blue skies

Good friends

Swimming

Sun burns

Bare feet

Camping

Sidewalk chalk

Lemonade

Swim suits

Flippy Floppies

Shorts

Warm nights

Snow cones

Sunglasses

Campfires

Parks

Star gazing

Pony tails

V-necks

Vacation

Corn on the cob

Aloe vera

Grass

Long days

Sunsets

No makeup

Ice cream

Family

Farmer's tan

BBQ

Maybe its because I was living in Logan but I don't think I ever thought that Summer would finally come. Its here.

Here's to the SUMMER OF TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN.

Rhinos in the Backyard

(title inspired by Richie Thomas)


I've heard it said 
That people come into our lives for a reason 
Bringing something we must learn 
And we are led 
To those who help us most to grow 
If we let them 
And we help them in return 
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true 
But I know I'm who I am today 
Because I knew you... 

Like a comet pulled from orbit 
As it passes a sun 
Like a stream that meets a boulder 
Halfway through the wood 
Who can say if I've been changed for the better? 
But because I knew you 
I have been changed for good 

It well may be 
That we will never meet again 
In this lifetime 
So let me say before we part 
So much of me 
Is made of what I learned from you 
You'll be with me 
Like a handprint on my heart 
And now whatever way our stories end 
I know you have re-written mine 
By being my friend... 

Like a ship blown from its mooring 
By a wind off the sea 
Like a seed dropped by a skybird 
In a distant wood 
Who can say if I've been changed for the better? 
But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good 

And just to clear the air 
I ask forgiveness 
For the things I've done you blame me for. 

But then, I guess we know 
There's blame to share 
And none of it seems to matter anymore 

Like a comet pulled from orbit 
As it passes a sun 
Like a stream that meets a boulder 
Halfway through the wood 
Like a ship blown from its mooring 
By a wind off the sea 
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood 
Who can say if I've been 
Changed for the better? 
I do believe I have been 
Changed for the better 

And because I knew you... 
Because I knew you... 
Because I knew you... 
I have been changed for good...


For Good-Wicked


















Thank you to all the amazing friends I have met this past year. It has been amazing and I will always remember you. I can't wait for our future adventures! I love you all.

Here comes the sun....dodododooo

Finals week. The make it or break it week of the year. I have four...ish finals. 

Thursday 7:30 AM. Intro to Elementary Education. It is an essay final that is pretty much all opinion.

Thursday 9:30 AM. (yes, i have two finals back to back) Statistics. Comprehensive. I plan on studying a lot with Richie Thomas.

Friday 11:59 PM. Nutrition. What a strange time to have a final. Its online and I'm terrified of it.

Friday 10:00 AM. Humanities. Take-home quiz and paper. Four-page single-spaced paper. Death.

My mom will be up on Thursday to get most of my stuff. Friday I have to be moved out of my room by 1:00 PM. This is all happening so quickly. Bittersweet for sure. Saturday I will live in Sandy. I am going to miss my friends like crazy. But don't worry. I will see them over the summer. And two years isn't forever, right?

Well. that is my week in a nutshell. Lots of studying. But I hope to also do some fun things. An art project with a friend. Maybe some outdoor games. And definitely some movies.