Greatest parents :)

For Day 4: I want to say I have such an incredible mom and dad! I appreciate everything they have done and the love and support they have always given my siblings and I. Mom, you have always been a great example and held strong with your testimony and faith and has taught me many important life lessons. Dad, you taught me how to have fun and I will never forget all our daddy/daughter dates and our family camping trips. I admire your determination and how you have taught me the true meaning of hard work and have always been a support.
Mom, Dad, I have been so blessed to have you as my parents!! You're the best!
Love always,
~Rachel

(When I was 13 I had my) first love

Well, more like 12 to be exact. But this is the third day of the 30 day challenge. There are always those crushes that come in Elementary school, (gotta love them!) And I was also in love with the actor who played Peter Pan when I was 12. Brooklyn and I would gawk at his pictures in Mrs. Rotermund's class. And then he turned 16 and we figured he was too old for us (that was so old back then ;) ) hahaha oh dear goodness

The meaning

That is, the meaning behind my blog name, as part of this 30 day challenge that's supposed to be spectacular. As you can see my blog name is "Life at its Greatest." It can be so hard for people to see the good in the world, or to always be waiting for "the greatest" to come. And yes, there are always going be fantastic things to come later on, especially during hard times. But we need to look for "the greatest" every day, even through the small and simple things, otherwise we would miss out on sooo much. I have had a hard life in many ways, but I have been able to get through them by looking for the positive things every day and knowing that there is "better" to come.

30 day challenge

30 Day Challenge...

I have seen this a few times and decided it might be fun to try it :) I may not have every picture just for privacy reasons, but I will try to keep up, even if the days are not in a row. I will most likely get bored of it after a while, but I'm up for the challenge. Any of you can use this challenge as well if you would like. Go ahead and go for the challenge :)

• Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
• Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
• Day 3-Your first love
• Day 4-Your parents
• Day 5-Your siblings
• Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
• Day 7-Favorite movies
• Day 8-A place you've traveled to
• Day 9-A picture of your friends
• Day 10-Something you're afraid of
• Day 11-Favorite TV shows
• Day 12-What you believe
• Day 13-Goals
• Day 14-A picture you love
• Day 15-Bible verse
• Day 16-Dream house
• Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
• Day 18-Something you regret
• Day 19-Something you miss
• Day 20-Nicknames
• Day 21-Picture of yourself
• Day 22-Favorite city
• Day 23-Favorite vacation
• Day 24-Something you've learned
• Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
• Day 26-Picture of your family
• Day 27-Pets
• Day 28-Something that stresses you out
• Day 29-3 Wishes
• Day 30-a picture

 DAY 1



While I was in California

Now 15 Fun Facts:

1. I will never grow tired of Disney or watching Disney movies. 

2. I usually only wear normal boring socks when exercising. I love crazy socks :)

3. I have very, very curly red hair, in case anyone didn't know :)

4. My obsession: cooking and baking. I am often found in the kitchen trying to cook or bake something new, whether it's cookies, breads, casseroles, crepes, meals, etc

5. I collect jewelry from different countries, yet I've never been outside of the country.

6.I love almost anything vintage. I love vintage fashion. I listen to old music varying from Frank Sinatra to Swing to the Beatles.

7. There's something significant about the upper 20s numbers, like 29. I have moved about 29 times, I take about 29 pills a day, and my birthday is on Sept 29.

8. I was almost casted as Valentine for Ender's Game, but then one of the final cuts didn't go well and the movie didn't pull through.

9. I love to be outdoors. I love to go camping because I love sleeping in a tent outside underneath the stars, eating smores, and being close to God's creations. I love hiking (but not always with too steep of heights haha). I am always playing or running outside.

10. I have always been artistic, whether it's through dance, painting, writing, crafts, you name it! In 2nd Grade I made a marionette out of paper towels, paper, floss, and clothing hangers. In 4th grade I made a purse out of my sister's old jeans. Lately I have made home decorations using modge podge.

11. I am terrified of snakes. They wanted to be my friend while I lived in Texas as they showed up all the time outside our apartment, which didn't work out so well...

12. Who could you hear bawling in the whole theater room while Dobby died in Harry Potter 7? I will give you one guess...

13. One of my goals, if I ever visit Hawaii, is to go on a shark cage tour. You get inside a large protected cage in the deep blue sea, and large sharks swim up to you. I learned about it at work :)

14. I really miss Arlington, Texas, but at the same time I absolutely love Utah :) It's beautiful here.

15. What music do I still sing, dance, and listen to? That's right, 90s music. I know many songs by artists such as Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter, and Nsync by heart.

Art Talk

     We had a wonderful lesson in church today. The lady that talked shared how important it is to simplify our lives. She reminded us of Uchdorf''s talk during the last General Conference in October about the things that matter most. I started to feel very guilty and knew I had to simplify my life, and tried to ask myself how I could make my life easier in some ways. In Uchdorf's talk he said how we can simplify our lives. That is, by seeking the things that matter most, which usually revolve around improving our relationships with our God, our families, people around us, and ourselves. There is beauty all around and sometimes we just need to sit back and acknowledge God's creations, and most importantly we need to think about what matters most in life.
     In the lesson she told about how she is taking these art classes, and showed us a painting that she painted. Her art teacher instructed her to only paint the simple parts of the picture, especially where the light hit. He taught how important it was to capture the light in the paintings. When I took painting I learned this as well, with how the lit portions of the pictures can make the whole difference. This is similar to our lives, with how we need to focus on the simple things and where the light hits. The light in our lives can change things around so much, so we need to strive to focus on what is good and important by focusing on being like the savior, our blessings, caring for others, and beauty around.
     So anyways, there's my cheesy Sunday message :) I'm now ready to take a Sunday nap! :)

BYU!!!

Oh, and I also forgot to mention...I made it into BYU!!! I am so thrilled. It is such a blessing!! I know that it really shouldn't be that big of a deal of which college, but I am so grateful for making it into BYU. My mom and I were worried that I wouldn't make it, especially because of CF situations such as distance wise if I would have to travel a few hours to the U for normal appointments, but now I will be living closer to home. I am glad to be surrounded by church activties and to be able to get a good education :)

California

I did end up going to California :) And let me say, it was the best trip I have ever been on! We all had so much fun. We went to a place to eat called Mideaval Times, where our school cheered on our 'Green Team Member' with a bunch of other schools (preschool and elementary age). I had forgotten what high-pitched screaming sounds like :/. But we had fun, wearing paper crowns and eating kid food.
     After that, we all piled in and got large frosties and fries. We danced whenever we were driving in the van. Hearing Daniel sing and dance in the van made my day. I got sunburned while it was blizzarding in Utah. Then Brooklyn and I watched the Ellen Show while eating junk food. I felt gross by the end of the day, but it was a great day!
     At Disneyland the next day we crammed into the van for our leadership conference and a fun day at Disneyland. Our leader tought us some awesome lessons about how to be a good team member, leader, listener, etc. We had activities where we relied on each other. We were able to get a fastpass to Space Mountain and got a final picture with our leader DJ.
     After our short conferene, it was time for the adventuers. That's right. It started to pour rain, so most of the lines were no longer than 20 minutes each. That meant we partied! We went on space Mountain: 6 times. California Screaming: 4 times. Tower of Terror: 4 times. River Rapid ride in pouring rain and Soarin as well. We stayed at California Adventure until it closed (with a random dance party at the end with strangers we just met). We then went back to Disneyland and rode the Indiana Jones ride and Big Thundermountain Railroad twice each along with the Matterhorn about four times. After leaving Disneyland at midnight, we all headed to Dennys, where we had our delirious moments as we stayed until 2 Am. By the time I got back to the hotel I felt so ill as I had the worst motion sickness that lasted through Sunday morning, but we all had the time of our lives.
     The next day we all slept in, checked out of the hotel, and then headed to the beach. Brooklyn and I were able to take some awesome pictures before it began to rain again. Everyone ate at a yummy diner named Ruby's at the end of the pier. It was then time to head to the airport and fly home. I will never forget that trip!!! :)

pretty darn excited on the plane!

We like frosties :)

Poor Smothered Mickey



We are Brighton