Best Weekend EVER!

Hello Peoples! It is me! ( aka The worst blogger ever because I never post....)  Well I kinda had the BEST WEEKEND EVER!

* FLASH BAAAAAACK*

It all started last Thursday... My Father, two of my sisters, and I got in the car and drove to Idaho! It was awesome, because we sang like the whole way! And we got to my grandparents house and went to bed! It was more exciting then it sounds... Hahah(:

Then Friday came along.. We all got in the car and had an awesome road trip to Utah... OH And I found this totally weird song... But it is SO stinking catchy!  It is called Secret Asian Man... ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR34ilk4xaI ) I know... Its weird.. But It is also catchy.

Anyways, We get to Utah and we go to ZUPAS! AGH! I LOVE ZUPAS MORE THAN ANYTHING. Seriously. They need a Zupas in Washington.  So I walk into Zupas and there is a girl there that I kinda recognize.. And then she knows who I am! So I felt pretty popular that I actually knew someone!... kinda.... But we catch up and I go sit down with my food and I start enjoying the most delicious food in the world...... AND THEN.... Another person comes up to me and says, " Are you Natalie Whiting?" And Im just feeling like a movie star! Woo! I was about to sign my autograph on the napkin when he told me that I knew his little sister! And I was like.... *Poof* There goes my movie star fame. Hahah It was awesome.

Then we got to go see Studio C! It was so amazing! Like SO amazing! I Stinking Love Studio C. It makes my heart happy!


Then we went to my Uncles home and went to bed!

SATURDAY!!!!!

I went to hang out with my friend Haylie! She is AMAZING. And we hung out and watched a movie called Gravity! It was pretty good! Then we went to a park to hang out with friends!

AGH. I stinking love my friends... But I was SO tired! I just wanted to lay down and sleep. And then we played.. DUN DUN DUUUUUN.... Sports. I am pretty decent at sports if I have energy.... And I had no energy. And I guess I really am kinda bad at sports... BUT I am SUPER amazing at yard work. I think we should have had like a pull the weeds competition! OR a mow the lawn competition.. OR Kill the fungus in the grass competition. I WOULD HAVE WON ALL OF THOSE. I am PRO at Yard Work!

I seriously wanted to just sit down with some people and just talk and laugh for hours... But sadly I couldnt do that... But I had fun seeing all those beautiful people!!!

SO, On Sunday we went to Temple square to go and watch Music and the Spoken Word!



I was SO excited to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.. BUT then we found out Dallyn Vail Bayles was going to be singing there too! HE is the bestest singer ever! Like he is AMAZING. Anyways. We got Amazing seats! 2nd ROW!!! AND THEN..... WE heard that the Prophet was coming....And he sat less than 20 feet away from me. He was amazing.

It was crazy. He entered the room and like the spirit just exploded! It was like he was the holy ghost! It was like shining through him onto everyone else!

It was an amazing weekend. But I have been thinking, If we all lived our lives righteously... we could all be like the prophet with the spirit touching people just by our presence! That is my new goal.(:
Hahah Anyways, It was the best weekend!

- See Ya Later Raccoon

Slacker....

Hey guys! So I haven't written in a long time. I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't. I cant tell you how many times I have sat down and wanted to write about everything, but every time I do I cry. I guess the thing I have learned these last couple months is that life is hard. Like really hard. And I can not do it all by myself. I actually wrote a song about it.... I will share it in my next post!(:

So I am back to posting every Sunday! Hooray! I got this. And I think Im out of my rough patch!

I feel bad, because someone hurt me. And since then Ive pushed people away. This person was my best friend in the WHOLE world. I would tell them everything. I loved them more than any of my other friends. But this person hurt me. How? Well they ignored me. And I was SO confused. Im not going to go into detail, but they basically walked away from our totally AMAZING friendship. I tried to find out why, but im afraid I will never know! Maybe they have a way awesome excuse! I don't know! But Im going to assume the best! WOO.

Okay Raccoon. Lets be honest. You were a total mess.

Fine. I was. I was a sobbing creature who I thought this was the end of the world. I assumed the worse and I pushed all my friends away from me. Yeah... Im human... or Raccoon....(; And yes. I still think about this wonderful person everyday, but it gets easier. I don't focus on them leaving me. I focus on our great memories! And I will admit, sometimes I find myself smiling randomly throughout the day having flashbacks of the fun we had. Its SO hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember. But it gets easier. I promise.


But Im happy now! How? Through the atonement. Let me explain.

In Seminary a couple weeks ago we were memorizing scripture....

Alma 7:11-13

" 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."

 

So Not only is the atonement for our sins and mistakes, but it is for PAINS and AFFLICTIONS. DUDE. I have never realized that! The atonement is for anytime we feel hurt.

 

I think that is what got me through. Jesus Christ felt the pain I felt. He suffered for me. For everyone. I could not have gotten through this alone.

I am so blessed that I have this knowledge of the atonement. And Yes, it has been a rough couple months. But because of the atonement I can get through anything. I can overcome any challenge pushed my way.

I know this isn't my normal fun, happy post, but I needed to share the truth and the realness of the atonement. It is real. And I challenge you to find for yourself your own testimony of the atonement.

Guys. I am happier than ever. Really. God is so good. He has blessed me so much. You are loved. I will get back on posting more. (:

- See ya Later Raccoon

Selfie Story

Today I will be doing a Selfie story. Wait what? You don't know what that is? Well let me tell you!

A selfie story is when someone takes a bunch of selfies and tells you a story using them.... Trust me.... This is awesome. Okay... Now get ready cause We are going to start! OH And this is a true story.....

So it was a lovely Monday morning and I was going to go and sign up for the school talent show and I didnt expect auditions to be for another week. I had no idea what I was going to sing so I wasn't worried about it....

I walked up to the sheet and saw that Auditions were tomorrow! And I was trying to decide if I should sign up or not!......

BUT I still grabbed a pencil and wrote my name hoping the other acts were bad....

Then I came home and Koala said she would sing with me... So I wasn't too worried.....

And so we practiced and we sounded way awesome.....

 But then I saw all the other people singing and I thought, " Hmm.... Even if we don't make it, It will be fun!"

 And then the guy in charge says we only have one minute to show our talent....

  But in that one minute I think we did way awesome! SO Now we wait to see the results!

THE END

-See Ya Later Raccoon

Big News!

I have a surprise.....  I got Bangs.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I do like them... Im still learning how to style them and such, but they are kinda fun! Haha Now... Onto the rest of this wonderful post!


NOW... THE AWKWARD MOMENT OF THE WEEK....
So Last night I was at ward Choir. We were singing this lovely song when we came to a high A, that none of the sapranos could hit. Well in choir I sing alto, so of coarse I was NOT going to say " Oh Yes. Hi... I know Im an alto and I sing the lowest women part... but I think I can hit the highest note in the song!" haha No. That would be crazy! AND YET Koala made a comment and I am now singing the high note.... So I am singing alto the whole time until we get to that note. Yep.... People think Im CRAZY!(:

Moving right along.....
Koala ( My sister) and I drive to school every day. We take two classes at the public school, Seminary and Choir. To get to the school you have to turn left at this one street. But we ALWAYS get a yellow arrow. The street is really busy too so it can take a while before you turn! SO the other day Koala and I were driving up to this turn and right as we got up to the light..... IT TURNED GREEN. We were both freaking out! Then I noted that that was a tender mercy. Silly sounding right? But tender mercies are the little things in each day that make me smile and know that I am loved and watched over!

In First Nephi Chapter One verse Eight it says:


And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have^amercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

Awesome, right? Then in April 2005 Elder Bednar says this:

I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live.

I just love that! And I know that looking for these tender mercies in our lives will make us more happy! Sometimes we can be pretty ungrateful or we can be having a really bad day. But when that happens, count your tender mercies. You have many everyday that you realize. Really anything that makes you happy. And you can find good in everyday as long as you look for it! I challenge you to look for the tender mercies in your life as you go along your day.

-See Ya Later Raccoon

How I Lived....

This week has been a whole ball of fun. Lets start by going backwards......

Last Night-

Last night I went and babysat for this wonderful family. Some interesting stories..... They have a 2 year old girl who I made my goal not to let her cry at all. ( Which she didn't cry. So Go me!) This little girl came up to me and said,
                                            " I want to watch ish ageish."
I was so confused. What was this girl talking about?  SO 15 min later ( As she kept saying Ish Ageish)  her 7 year old brother screamed,
          " She wants to watch Ice Age for crying out loud! And to think that my mom left YOU in charge."  Yeah. That was a great self esteem boost!(; Haha Actually it was kinda cute. Once I got her movie going I took the two other boys ( A 4 year old and the 7 year old) And I took them to make the little hand fortune tellers.

           These boys had never seen anything like this. I told them that they then needed to write a fortune. They got all excited thinking that whatever they wrote would come true. Some of them were: You will be rich and famous forever, You will marry the most beautiful girl in the world, You will get 10 dogs for Christmas.... It goes on and on. Once we finished making them I did theirs and we laughed. Then I let the boys do mine.  I opened up their fortune and read out loud, " You have nice cheek bones!" I guess it is more of a compliment than a fortune... but oh well. Haha The boys were not happy with this fortune, but I had a good time laughing at their faces as They asked me what Cheek Bones are.

BUT Before we move on lets talk about.... MY AWKWARD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!

I was wearing this wonderful sweater...

And this guy comes up to me and says, " Hey, I like your sweater!"
And then awkward ole me answered with, " Oh... Thanks... I ... Uh.. Like your face!"

YES. I am the Queen on flirting. No... Not really....I need help.... Haha

MISSIONARY WEEK:

This week in Seminary has been Missionary Week. So we all got called on missions! I got called to Zurich Switzerland. During Missionary Week, you have to act like a missionary! So you have to go to sleep at a certain time, wake up, no tv, church music only.... And so on. It has actually been a lot of fun! Since I have been on a 'mission' I have been reading a lot of church books. Like They are AMAZING. Seriously! I love church books so much! Right now I am reading The Millennial Messiah.

 It is SUCH a good book! It is kinda big but it is SO good. If you own this book and you haven't read it, then go and get it out and read it! I am learning SO much! Haha So Thats all I will say.

-See Ya Later Raccoon

Stress= Silly Tigers Even Sing Soprano

     Some of you have complained to me that I don't talk enough about what I do. So here, Let me enlighten you!(; I went to a dance last night. ( gasp!) I know. I know. I can not dance to save my life, but it was fun! See:


Yep. That's the only picture I have. SO ENJOY IT.(; Haha I love dances. I like to give boys who play football a hard time because it is so dangerous. One of the boys told me that I worry more than his own mother. Oh yes. Haha ( Football really does scare me! They could break bones or something! Agh! It makes me so nervous!)

Moving on..... This week for school choir we were selling..... ( drums....) VALOGRAMS. ( Dun dun DUUUUN) So basically people would pay us to go sing to people at school or around town. So we did this Mon - Fri until 7 pm. Yeah. Not how I enjoy spending my evenings... but it was fun. I got to sing to some old ladies.... IT WAS SO AMAZING. I love singing to them! Some of them were dancing, Others were crying, And then... I GOT A HUG! Oooh! YES. I love old people! Haha I really want to go to sing to old people for free! I just love them! Yeah! OLD PEOPLE FOR EVERYONE! Okay.... Moving on... again...

So I have this app on my ipod where it gives you random church quotes. It is really awesome. I actually came upon this one:


I just like that.... And thought I would share it so you can ponder about it... Yep! Have a good week... I am going to go and get some rest from my busy crazy week... SIgh... I have nothing planned this next week. That makes me very happy!(:

-See Ya Later Raccoon

What makes you happy? (:

What makes you happy? Here are some things that make me happy:

•  Onions ( Weird I know. But they make me happy)
• Blankets tied around my waist like a skirt ( I wear it around the house all the time)
• When people laugh at my bad jokes
• Jumping up and down
• Giving people 25 high fives all in one day
• Wood.
• Onions dipped in chocolate ( I have never had it, but it sounds heavenly)
• Family
• Church

See? Lots of things make me happy! I asked a couple of my friends what makes them happy and they said:

• Friends
• Food
• Music
• Marvel
• Superheros
•  Being with me. ( The person who said this is my new favorite person)
• Sleeping

Something else that makes me really happy is making other people happy. Is that weird? I just love the feeling I get when I say or do something that makes people happy.

OH PICTURES! Pictures make me happy too.... but back on track!

Making people happy is great!  There are SO many ways to make people happy! Such as....

• Giving them a hug! (Im not too crazy about giving people hugs, but some people love hugs!)
• Give them a highfive! ( Now this is more of my style!)
• Compliments! ( Focus on the good in people!)
• Listen ( Some people need to rant.....)
• Cheesy jokes ( I personally love cheesy jokes! They make me happy)
• GIVE THEM FOOD ( You can never fail with this one)
• Write a nice note

See? Lots and lots of wonderful stuff! It makes lots of people happy!

AGH! Isn't that the best thing you have ever seen?!?! I Love that picture... I just want to hug it! AND I bet by hugging it, the picture would be happy...... if it had emotions.... which it doesn't..... BUT if it did, THEN It would be happy. Yeah.... SO Lets go and make people happy. It is really the best feeling ever. SO GO! AND MAKE PEOPLE.... and pictures...... HAPPY!(:

-See Ya Later Raccoon

I LOVE WASHINGTON.... What?

               I love Washington more than I thought I did. Pretty crazy right? Well I went to Utah this last weekend. I actually just got home 30 minutes ago and decided to write about it. Over all the trip was great. Moving is hard, but visiting is even harder. Pretty crazy right? Well When you leave you assume everything will be the exact same when you return, but it never is!

            Lately I have been so focused on what a horrible state Washington is and how much better Utah was. But as I look at it they are both pretty amazing. I realized that when I left Utah, things changed. Nothing will stay the same. Even if we really really want them too. We can not control it! It is all part of life. I guess what Im saying is when I visited Utah it kind of gave me some closure.  I mean... Uh... How do I say this.... hmm. I love Utah and all the people there, but I realized how blessed I have been in Washington. I realized how many great friends I have made in Washington. So What Im trying to say is.... I LOVE WASHINGTON!!!

        Wait. Did that just happen? Wow. I guess so. Haha Wow. That feels kind of good.  Moving on....




That is it. Yep. Just think about it. It is pretty amazing when you think about it. Okay. Yeah... Im pretty tired, so I might go and take a nap.

-See Ya Later Raccoon

NEW NEW NEW

        I love new stuff. It is seriously the bestest! Seriously. There is a lot of New stuff in my life. Lets take a look!

1. My blog design! Since it is a new year I thought it would be kinda fun to change it up a little bit! I think it looks good! So that is pretty amazing.

2. I got a new app on my Ipod! It is a really awesome app where you take pictures and put quotes on them! I kind of love it! Here is one I made last night:

Isn't it lovely? Well Yes. I do love it.

3. A trip! So Have you heard of Liken the Scriptures? Well it is amazing! They are church movies... but they are MUSICALS! AGH! I know. Go ahead and freak out. It is amazing. Go and check them out: liken.tv Im pretty sure you can watch some of their movies for free on there. But we are going on a trip to help the guy who wrote the music to those movies. SO IT IS AMAZING.

So YES. We are going to visit my old home! UTAH.

     That quote ^^^^ Is how I feel towards everyone in Utah. But I guess I can learn to like it here too.....

- See Ya Later Raccoon

And A Happy New Year!

         Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are all so excited for a new year! I know I am! We are all making new goals and such. One of my goals is too make my blog more fun to read. I admit, Sometimes I just write on my blog to rant. And I am sorry! SO here we go! Lets make this FUN!

       Everyone if making new goal this year.I hope you plan on keeping those goals. One of mine is to become a better person. Lets look at a few quotes.....








Don't you just love those? I love them all SO much. Why are we mean to others? Why do we judge them? We might not say it out loud but we say it in our heads. We do it to ourselves too. We think that we are not good enough. BUT WE ARE. We can do anything. Lets dream big and never give up. Lets not let others tell us what we can and can not do. Lets not let other influence us and how we feel. Lets be our own person. Let us all be an example and stand for truth and righteousness! SO LETS GO!

     Wow. I am so good at pep talks... I should do this more often. Haha(:

-See Ya Later Raccoon

PS. Since it is a new year I might change my blog up... Lets see how it goes....