Boyfriend of the Year Award

....And this years winner of the "Boyfriend of the Year" award goes tooooooooo....

Trent Peterson!

Trent snuck up from St George and surprised me after work to take me to dinner and the temple. I walked out of my school and BAM there he was! He had my roommate pack a dress for me to change into so we could just leave right from there. I was so surprised!...and horrified because of all the days for him to show up, this day I was in a sloppy ponytail and some baggy pants with raisins smeared on the cuffs. Not my cutest moment. But definitely one of my most excited moments.

 We ate at Texas Roadhouse -- I'm sure we ate half a raw cow each -- then went to the Timpanogos Temple, where we began slowly (and, in my case, loudly) digesting that heifer.

While sitting in the chapel, a worker came and asked us to be the witness couple. We told him we weren't married, but he said that didn't matter, and he felt led to ask us. So we agreed and really enjoyed that experience.

Afterwards, while sitting in the celestial room, where you can discuss the deepest and most sacred parts of the gospel, I had to secretly confess that the steak dinner was making it's way through my guts, and I had been holding in a toot the entire session. He didn't run away, so I think it's love.

Picture Day

This is my first year teaching at a real school where we have real picture day. I had a lot of stress about this because I haven't looked good in a picture day picture since about 1993. So this was my year to shine! I'm a grown up now! I take showers now! I have teeth now! I am not ugly now!

Those are true in theory.

But there is just something about sitting in that doomed picture day chair--in front of the blue hazey backdrop--that turns you from a blossoming bud of beauty into a frumpy wideloaded acne bag.

From this:

(Which is my carefully crafted hair and outfit to be exceptionally perfect for picture day)

To this:

 

Okay I haven't gotten the pictures yet, but after each shot, the photo lady would show me the digital copy and I'm telling you, they were all HORRIBLE. Like two strands of nasty hairs that were more kinked than curled and a random part in my bangs and chubby red cheeks that shut one eye and a broad body with awkwardly placed arms. There's just no way to win that game. 

Four Eyes

I got new glasses and tried them on but I still had my contacts in...

so it didn't work out so well.

So here are some real pictures.

My eyes are magnified larger than life. So good thing they're pretty.

Rachel Moves to the City

For those of you just tuning in, I moved. 

And if this is your first time hearing about it, shame on ya.

I packed up all of my earthly belongings and drove up to Salt Lake. Of course, not everything fit in my small Mazda...and if you think all of my belongings would only take up a small sedan, you don't know me and shame on ya.

I'm sharing a room with my friend Abbey Hafen from St. George. This is our stuff piled in the room. 

I moved in a few weeks before her so I had some time to get things organized. And since I had no bed or dresser, I camped on the floor for about a week.

I had my strong, strapping nephews help me move a dresser and a book case.

Connor was working hard.

And Garren was hardly working.

This picture is just to show my incredible backing up job...i got this whole huge van in between the lines in this crowded parking lot! I'M A WOMAN.

Look at these hard working boys. So strong. So handsome. So good to their aunt.

So this is my room now. Pillows and duvet covers are courtesy of IKEA. Well...I guess I paid for them. So it was not much of a courtesy.

 So far, Salt Lake is fine. I'd say it's good, not great. I am intimidated by the crowds of people and I feel like it's just an unmanageable size for me. But regardless, I am happy with my roommates, my apartment, and....that's about it. Everything else, I'm working on loving. :) 

Deer Valley

So I went on a trip with my good friend Trent (and by 'good friend' I mean we're kind of dating) (and by 'kind of dating' I mean we are dating, I just like to make it sound not serious so no one gets excited because I have commitment issues and like to downplay relationships) up to Deer Valley with his family. 

He's from Kamas, which is up near Park City. It was like 20 degrees cooler than St. George and super pretty.

We rode in his uncle's rented convertible Camero.

 We rode a four wheeler up pretty trail.

We rode a ski lift up a mountain instead of hiking it.

We took this picture that looks like we hiked something, but you all know better than that.

It was a fun trip and I'd say that maybe I'll let Trent keep coming around. He's a nice guy.

My mission farewell

About every four or five months, my mission buds who also live in St. George and I would get together to catch up, eat food, tell the same stories, laugh at the same jokes, bring up the same weird companions, then go home. 

Since we only had time for one more visit before I moved, I FORCED them to remake this picture with me. And we didn't regret it. Well they may resent it, but no regrets, I'm sure.

Sister Fillmore, Elder Poulson, Elder Cunningham

Lots changes in five years. Elder Cunningham's wife is pregnant with their second child. Elder Poulson just got married. And me? I got new teeth. So, it's been quite eventful for all of us.

Found: Long Lost Cousin

I guess something can't be "long lost" if you didn't even know it existed. But anyway.

So there I was in Sunday School when a new girl in the ward got up to introduce herself. She said her name was Jenn Soderborg. I immediately shot up from my seat (they are used to my outbursts...) and said "Soderborg? My mom is a Soderborg!"

Turns out, she's Uncle Grant's granddaughter. Her dad is James Soderborg, whom I have never met.

Small world, right? Some people do family search online. I do family search at church. 

Although maybe I would have known that she existed if I actually did family search...