I love Twitter. I really do! It's actually probably my favorite social media platform. People are just so dang funny on there! And it's just a fun place to get out some random thoughts you have during the day. I go through phases. Sometimes I won't tweet for weeks. Others, I'll only retweet things others have tweeted. And then sometimes, like lately, I tweet a few times per day. So I'll probably do posts with this theme pretty regularly.

According to Twitter I thought it:

--03/15/16: Disneyland Disneyland Disneyland 

Disneyland Disneyland Disneyland 

Disneyland Disneyland Disneyland 

I can't stop thinking about Disneyland. I really can't. I know I've brought up my obsession about a million times on this blog, but every time I'm planning a trip, my condition gets worse and worse. Sometime in May, my sisters, my mom, and I are taking a weekend trip to Disneyland! I can't wait. I daydream about it pretty much nonstop.

--03/18/16: MY BRACKET IS LEADING 

OUT OF EVERYONE AT WORK!!!

That was short lived. Ha! For a good 5 days, my bracket was about 95%. It's now sitting somewhere around 40%. 

--03/21/16: Your inability to turn off your stinkin' 

turn signal is leading me to  epileptic tendencies. 

--03/22/16: I got 99 problems and slow drivers 

are all of them. THE. SPEED. LIMIT. IS. 70. 

I actually turn to Twitter with road-rage quite frequently. Haha, I swear I'm the most impatient person. Most of my biggest pet peeves deal with traffic/other drivers/Provo roads. It's pretty bad actually! I need to not let it get me so frustrated.

--03/21/16: Today my mom told me her hair dryer died, 

so she was buying a new one. I said, "I need to do that too." 

I came home to a new hair dryer. (crying emojis. heart emoji.)

This isn't a one time occurrence, you guys. My mom is the most thoughtful and loving human out there. She's constantly doing little things for me, just because she loves to and loves to show others that she was thinking about and cares about them. AND the hair dryer she bought me is yellow--my favorite color, which she did on purpose. Ah! Mama, I love you.

--03/22/16: Being at a caucus always makes me 

feel like I'm at a Stars Hallow town meeting.

Tonight was the caucus, so Nathan and I went with my parents to do our voting. I say that the reason we're making those faces in the photo above, is because we're really not happy with any of the candidates that are funning. I'm nervous to see how this election turns out. (And I think the rest of America is too...) It cracks me up, though, to gather with everyone from our little town and hear everyone's thoughts. If you haven't seen Gilmore Girls, I highly suggest it! You'll fall in love with all the characters. The town meetings are hilarious. I'm currently re-watching it to prepare for the additional season Netflix is coming out with soon. #TeamLogan 

10 Little Updates

1: Last Tuesday I was sick in bed, and I didn't get to spend it with Nathan like I usually do. I was bummed about that, because I had planned on taking him to the LDS Face to Face-- a broadcast for young, single adults with Elder Holland, Elder Hallstrom, and Sister Stephens. Although I didn't get to take Nathan, I was able to watch it online. It was so uplifting, inspiriting, and exactly what I needed. The concept was that anyone could tweet in questions, and they would answer as many as they could during the broadcast. One of my favorite things that Elder Holland said at the end was, "Whatever the question, the answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ." It really put so many of my personal questions into perspective. 

2: Thursday was a rough day. We got some bad news about the health of my dad and of my brother, and I was just struggling. I'm lucky to have the people in my life that I do. My friends Cami and Carlee took me for a drive, helped me forget what was going on for a while, and had me laughing in no time. Speaking of--did you guys know that on the iPhone, you can text an emoji, and (with a certain setting turned on) your phone can speak the emoji?  "Smiling pile of poo"<---haha b="" dying.="" i="" was="">

3: Friday night was girls night! My sister Katie is a Mary Kay Consultant and was having a party. Afterwards, Cami and I went back to my parents and watched the Lizzy McGuire movie. haha! It'd been way too long since I'd seen it.

4: Saturday was my parents 35th anniversary! They spent the weekend away, and my mom got a new ring! It's beautiful.

5: Saturday morning Cami came with me to take Nathan to get an MRI. Did I already mention how lucky I am to have the friends that I do?! I was feeling really overwhelmed with having to take Nathan by myself. I don't know what I would've done without her there. Probably cry the whole time in the waiting room because I was so anxious haha.

6: Sunday I got to Skype Kamila! Kamila is my foreign exchange student from my Junior year of high school. We used to be a lot better at keeping in touch, but I know it had been a few years since I'd really had a good conversation with her. But we talked for 2 hours! It was great to catch up. I just love her. :)

7: I know this is pathetic, but in all my years of life, my "scripture study" has been more or less just reading through the Book of Mormon. There have definitely been times where I've been more "studious" about it than others, but it's always been cover-to-cover, and starting over again when I finish. This week I decided to start studying the characteristics of Christ found in Preach My Gospel. I'm starting with Faith, and will continue to study it until I feel like it's time to move on to another one. It's been an incredible experience so far. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone needing a change in their scripture study!

8: Daylight Savings is killing me. That's all I'm gonna say.

9: Monday was the Bachelor finale. haha. It's funny that that's noteworthy enough for me to put on here, but it is. The best thing is that every Monday I get to spend the night with my friends and sisters, relax, and get into a stupid TV show. Yeah, we know it's a shallow show, but it's more about who you're with than what you're doing. I'm gonna miss it until the next season starts! 

10: Tonight Nathan and I decided to go to the mall to look for a new wallet for him. He gets cash and gift cards sometimes, (holidays, birthday, etc.) and I felt like he needed one! We happened to have a gift card to JCPenney, so we decided to start our search there. Nathan turned down every single wallet they had! haha, it was so funny. BUT I did catch him eyeing this shirt, and it was the only thing he said he wanted. You guys, he's the best! He's got so much personality in him. I wish everyone could see it.

Nathan's SURPRISE Party!

Over the past week and a half, my siblings, my parents, and I have been planning a surprise party for Nathan's 23rd birthday. We really wanted to make this birthday special for him. Honestly, with Nathan's situation, you just never know how long he's going to make it. His body is constantly working so hard. As I've posted more frequently about Nathan over the past year or so, I've received so many loving comments from friends and family about the impact Nathan has had on them. I always, always pass these comments on to Nathan, but I wanted him to be able to hear it from these people himself, because I wanted him to REALLY believe it. So we threw a party and invited friends from all different times of his life. 

The surprise effect was so much fun! We had around 60 people there, and when everyone jumped out of their hiding places to shout "surprise!", Nathan literally started shaking, he was so startled! Haha! Throughout the party, everyone was able to spend a minute or two wishing Nathan a happy birthday and catching up with him a bit. 

The best part was just seeing in Nathan's eyes that he loved this party. Some of our family drove almost two hours just to be there for that party, and I know he really appreciated it! We all do. Our family felt so much love last night, and more importantly, Nathan felt so much love last night. We're really blessed to have the friends and family that we do! 

Thank you to everyone who helped make this party such a success! 

Some of the greatest friends Nathan and I share-- Matthew, Tristan, Jake, Ryan. Nathan and Ryan have been friends since BIRTH.

Abby and Steve

Uncle Dave and Aunt DeAnn

Aunt Renee, Uncle Steve, and our cousin McKenna

Uncle Jeff, Aunt Diane, and our cousin Will 

Some of Nathan's favorite helpers over the last 10 years, Quinton, Rory, Craig, Luis, and Matthew. I just have to say, that we've had some of the best of the best when it comes to Nathan's helpers. No matter how many years go by, or how long it's been since they worked with Nathan, they always check in, they always support, and ultimately they truly think of Nathan as a friend. Nothing touches my heart as much as seeing the love these guys show Nathan. What a blessing they are in his life, and our entire family's lives.

Man! If there was even an appropriate time to say #BLESSED, this is it.
My cup runneth over.

Tuesdays with Nathan: Forts and Scriptures

I always look forward to Tuesday's. Spending time with Nathan is always so good for both of us. A couple of weeks ago, I posted on Facebook that I was running out of fun ideas of things to do with Nathan and asked for advice. I don't want to be someone who asks for advice and then completely ignores the advice given, so Nathan and I have decided to do every single thing that was suggested to us! (To the best of our ability.) So far we've been able to check Puppy Barn and a movie off of that list, and tonight we checked off build a fort! We wanted to do something fun and sort of childish, because we were just done adulting for the day. As Nathan can attest, I'm not the best fort builder, haha. But eventually we were able to get a stable fort that was completely covered! It was so much fun hanging out in there, getting caught up on scripture reading, and talking about life. 

Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be his sister?

Hello!

Well, apparently I haven't blogged since mid August, and here I am sitting on the edge of where 2013 meets 2014 finally taking a moment to write. Nathan was ordained as an Elder last Sunday, and on Friday he went through the temple and received his endowments! One of the things I've struggled with the most, is feeling like Nathan has had to miss out on so many experiences that so many of us are able to have here on this Earth. My heart is just so full knowing that this is not one of those experiences. Nathan was literally glowing that whole night. I've never seen him so happy or peaceful. I wish I could explain how grateful I am to not only be his sister, but to be the sibling closest to him in age. He's always been my best friend, and he has blessed my life in so many ways. 

Nathan.

Today is Nathan's 20th birthday. Can you even believe that?! 

We're only a year apart, so of course he's 20, but it just seems so old to me. 

Do any of you remember him before his drowning accident? 

Ah, he was the sweetest kid. He was my very best friend. (still is.) 

As each year passes, it gets harder for me to believe that he has been this way for more of his life than he hasn't been this way. 

It's been a little over 11 and a half years since his accident.  

Still, I remember his voice and try to think of what he would sound like now.

I know the kinds of girls he had crushes on, and I sometimes try to imagine what kind of girls he'd be interested in now. 

He was a little cutie back then, and he's definitely still a hunk now!

Most importantly, I know he's still the same incredibly amazing person on the inside, even if he can't express it as well right now. 

I couldn't be more grateful to have Nathan as my brother. I feel so blessed. You won't ever meet anyone whose light shines brighter. 

Happy birthday, Nathan Todd!  I love you!!

p.s. Thank you all for the support you guys have shown me and my family in regards to Nathan throughout the years and even still. 

You really have no idea how much it means to us, 

and it's your examples of service and love that have helped shape who I am today. :) 

The one about Thursday's Hero with the BYU football team.

Did you guys know that every Thursday the BYU football team celebrates a "Thursday's Hero"?

They nominate special needs ladies and gents and then they get together and celebrate them.

It is the sweetest thing ever. 

One of our family's close friends is Rory Eyring. He used to work with Nathan, but he had to quit because he is now the BYU football team's go-to guy for if they get hurt on the field at practice or a game. You may or may not have seen him on TV. 

Anyway.

He nominated Nathan to be a Thursday's Hero.

Let me tell you a little bit about this privilege.

First we all toured the student activities building, looked around Coach Mendenhall's office, sat in his chair.

  

We watched the short video about Nathan that the football team got to watch to learn about Nathan and his life.

Then we watched about an hour of football practice, and then the guys came over to meet Nathan.

It was so adorable.

They just all started clapping for him and giving him presents. 

Nathan got BYU stickers, hats, shirts, posters, flags...they spoiled him.

But I know that Nathan completely loved it. It was so cute seeing those big football boys getting all 

excited for Nathan. I'm really glad that he got to experience that.

The thing is, Nathan really is a hero

You can catch family interview and see the whole thing on Monday at 6:00 or 9:00 in the evening on the BYU channel. :)

And it was great.

Last night my old roommates and friends from SUU came down and we had a sleepover!!!

The night was filled with endless conversation. Although some of us didn't get along well while living together, we were always able to have really good late-night talks and it felt really good to do that again. These girls really are stellar, and I know I still have a lot to learn from all of them.

*Disclaimers on the picture: 1: We forgot to take pictures the night before, so the only picture we had time to take was right after breakfast..that's why we all look our best. 2: Kelsey is not pictured because she only had about 45 minutes to spend with us because it was either her little brother's brother's birthday party, or her boyfriend had a family thing she had to go to. She claimed both excuses. 

[ha. love you anyway, Kels.]

SO good to see and hang out with these girls whom I've been missing all summer long.

We were up until three thirty in morning, which pretty much goes without saying, and then I got up at eight o'clock to feed Nathan, so I've been kickin' it zombie style all day long. 

Matthew, however, insisted that I go mini-golfing with him and Nathan at Trafalga. 

So that's exactly what we did.

I know Nathan loved getting out of the house and we all had so much fun.

Wanna know something else that's great?

Matthew hit a grand slam at his game today.

We talked about our dream life of him going pro and playing in the MLB.

We'll move to Texas and I'll go to every game with our 6 children all dressed in his team apparel.

Hopefully he'll play for the Braves.

{slash the Indians. :] }

Cross your fingers for us!

Q: What makes me happy?

A: Having dance parties with Matthew and Nathan

whilst singing to every song with a Spanish accent.

Q: what makes YOU happy?

4 a.m.

I woke up to Nathan smacking his lips, so I thought I'd go see if I could help make him more comfortable.
I sat up way too fast and fell backward off my bed. So I spent about 10 minutes laying on the floor crying at myself. Which turned into talking to myself. And telling myself jokes. And then I proceeded to laugh at myself. Because I actually thought I was funny.

By the time I walked into his room, Nathan was asleep again.

4 a.m. does terrible things to me.

at 7:00, I woke up so tired that I couldn't even remember my own name if you asked. I also thought my alarm clock was an atomic bomb, and it efforts to disable it and save all mankind, I hucked that thing across my room, where it came in crashing contact with my wall.

My name is Kalynn Petersen and I [do not] approve this message.

When the parents are away, the kids play!

Since my lovely parents have been on their anniversary vacation (30 years, people!)
and since Adam's girlfriend is newer than my boyfriend (apparently that gives him more right to be out from the time he wakes up until 4:00 in the morning...)
I was lucky enough to be able to have Nathan all to myself from 4:00 in the morning on Sunday until 3:00 this afternoon!
I'm not being sarcastic.
We had a blast!
A few of our activities include:

a walk with Mrs. Bones out in the sunshine
laying out on the tramp
practicing piano and singing hymns
watching Forever Strong
playing Yahtzee
playing Sorry
and baking snickerdoodles!


Not gonna lie.
Taking care of Nathan by myself for an entire day is hard work..
but it's totally worth it.
It's so much fun.
what can I say?
I love the kid!

Needless to say, it's been a good start of my spring break.

I hope each of you has a great week. :)

Love, Kay.

10 thing I learned this weekend.

1: Sleep is one of life's little pleasures.

2: I really really miss my parents!
3: This Spring Break is going to be a lot different than I thought it would be.
4: I need more girl friends. or..I at least need to spend more time with those that i DO have. Brielle! Where are you?!
5: I like the boyfriend even more than I thought I did. Who'da thunk it was possible?!
6: It's perfectly acceptable to eat graham crackers and milk for every meal.
7: It's really hard to watch movies when the sun is so rudely shining through your windows! (but..whatevs. I'd rather have sun. )
8: I am dying to go to the beach.
9: I adore spending my entire Sunday with Nathan.
10: Reeses cravings are too strong to fight.

DISCLAIMER: I'm about to get personal.

Oh, Ophelia. Poor, poor Ophelia.

Ophelia is my dear laptop. I diagnosed her with cancer when a two black spots of death showed up on her screen.

They started out small, but, like cancer sometimes does, spread rapidly until they covered much of the screen.

So I had to take her into the Geek Squad. They really know their stuff. And they are taking care of her.

She is in good hands. Anyway...the reason I am explaining this to you, is because I am using it as an excuse

for not having shared the joyous celebration of my youngest brother Nathan's 18th birthday yet.

His birthday was Friday the 26th, but the fiesta had to be a post-birthday celebration, because the whole fam damily couldn't arrive

until late-ish Friday night. We spent Saturday afternoon (after the BYU game, of course) bowling, because Nathan is one heck of a bowler.

Later, we retired to our humble abode for a fabulous grilled steak dinner, present opening session, and the best mud pie in the world.

I could only stay 24 hours, for a bunch of us had prior Sunday commitments.

Leaving my mama, papa, and Nathan is always hard after fun weekends at home, but I found this time..even harder. I'm so surprised that Nathan is 18. Can you believe that? Many of you, my kind readers, have known me for quite some time, but do you recognize the fact that Nathan was only 8 when he had his drowning accident? I'm sort of having a hard time accepting with the fact that he's been this way for more of his life than he has not. What I hate even worse, is that the older I get, the less I remember of those first 8 years of normalcy. But I do have a few memories.

I remember the time that we were fighting, and I pushed him to the ground and he slid across our hardwood floor; it gave him burns on his elbows. I immediately recognized that I'd done something regretful and apologized. He yelled "KALYNN! Do you really think SORRY will make the burns go away?!" haha. I can still hear his voice yelling those words to me.

I remember playing pirates on the bunk bed that he and Adam used to share in our house on Centennial Drive.

I remember having beanie baby wars. Each kid in my family collected them and had at least 30. We'd gather in a room, turn off all the lights, and ballistically hurl each baby individually everywhere we could, hoping to hit someone.

I remember when we would go to our "pretend grandparents'" (the Moores') house and I would bake cookies, fudge, or some other delicious dessert with Sister Moore, while he would work on a birdhouse or other wood project of sorts with Brother Moore.

I remember playing catch with him in the backyard every day, every summer. I know he'd still be playing if he could.

I remember dancing on the wall with him to N'SYNC or the Backstreet Boys. He definitely had the moves.

I remember the time when we were watching Adam's little league baseball game, and Nathan wandered around, found an interesting switch, decided to flip it, and turned out the field lights.

I remember when I used to tease him, "Nathan loves Tristan" saying it the way they do on the 3 ninjas.

I remember that the last words I ever heard him speak were, "Be safe, have fun, I love you, Kalynn."

Dear Nathan,

I love you buddy. I hope you enjoyed your 18th birthday.

I miss you everyday.

You're the main reason I want to go to BYU, you know.

I can't stand being so far away from you.

You're the best example I have in my life.

You're the sweetest boy I'll ever know.

Keep hangin' in there, kid. :) You're doing great.

Love, Kalynn.

10 things I learned this weekend.

1: It's okay to spend the weekend in playing COD and Ultimate Uno.
2: Hanging out with old friends that I've known since elementary makes me extremely happy.
3: Full nights of sleep and naps don't necessarily keep you from being tired during the day.
4: Kickboxing is a kick in the butt.
5: I have more memories with Nathan than I thought I did.
6: Movie popcorn makes a perfectly acceptable meal.
7: This snowboarding season is about to get better. :)
8: I miss spending time with my good friend Tristan Winterton.
9: This is going to be a long, long week.
10: Taking part in eating 50 chicken nuggets...is not the best idea ever.

Papa has been writing a book..

about Nathan's drowning accident and such..

and he wants each of his children to write a small tid-bit about Nathan and what we've learned from him that papa can add to his book.

help me??

just tell me if I sound like an idiot. mkay? Because this book is going to be published for all the world to see. {meaning..all of Utah and those who shop at Desert Book.}

Here's mine: {unless you guys think it sounds stupid. Then I'll write up something else.}

Nathan and I are significantly close in age, so growing up we had most of the same friends and there was rarely a time when we did something without the other. I will always be able to recall my mom telling us of how we were "partners in crime", although I was always pretty good at getting Nathan blamed for our mischievousness. We liked to run around the neighborhood barefoot, eating our Ramen Noodle seasoning packets and dance to the Backstreet Boys on the brick wall on the side of our house. Nathan truly always has been my very best friend in the world.

The week Nathan's accident occurred, I was staying with a friend in Salt Lake City, and I used to get exceptionally homesick. Because of this, I would call home every night and talk to each member of my family. Nathan was the last person I talked to the day before his drowning and he knew how homesick I was, so he was telling me a few jokes before we had to hang up. The last words he said to me that night, which happened to be the last words I ever heard him speak, were, "Be safe, have fun, I love you, Kalynn!"

This memory stands as a reminder of how caring Nathan has always been. He was the peacemaker of our family, so it seems fitting now that he is still the one teaching us about love, humility, patience, optimism, and faith. Nathan's strength makes me stronger. It makes our family, as a unit, stronger. It makes every person he comes in contact with stronger. Not a day goes by when I am not profoundly influenced by Nathan and what he has to teach me. I truly believe that even through all of his pain Nathan is a happy person. If there is anything to learn from Nathan, it's that as long as you've got something to hold on to, whether it be family, or perhaps God, then you can choose to be happy and life is still worth living. And I believe Nathan does that perfectly.

As always,
Kalynn Eve.