May  23rd, 2017: Jake is the best thing that has ever happened to me. With my dad in the hospital, I've just been struggling, but he makes it easier. Tonight we went and visited my dad, and it just felt heavy. Afterwards, he took me to Nickel City, and we just played as many games as possible, won a bunch of tickets, and traded them in for some fake tattoos and glow-in-the-dark stars. He makes my life lighter in every meaning of the word. I love him.

My Best Friends' Wedding

This embarrassing little photo is the first picture Cami and I took together, along with our friend Brielle, of course. :) It was September 2013. We had randomly been put together as roommates at Ventana, and had been living with each other for maybe a few weeks when we all decided to go shopping for some apartment decor. We ended up finding out we all had a love for Duck Dynasty and came home with matching cups and a Duck Dynasty Calendar, haha. We've been best friends ever since.

  THIS is a picture from the first time I met Kyle. He's the dude doing the Chandler Smiles in the green hat and sunglasses. His cousin Kincade and childhood friend Keola both lived at Ventana with me as well, and when we all decided to go float the Provo River, Kyle came along. This was July 2014. That same summer we all went on a couple trips to Zion, and Kyle and I became good friends pretty quickly.

I was lucky to find this great group of friends, and my relationships with each of them were/are unique and special in their own ways. 

Kyle is a different kind of guy. It's hard to describe. If I've ever needed help with anything, he's there to offer his help before I can even ask. He also has this ability to make everyone feel like they're the greatest person he's ever come across. I don't know how he does it! But whenever I've felt the worst about myself, it's been Kyle who builds me back up. Cami is just...she's my girl. She's always the first one I go to for the hardest or happiest things that come along, and even though I'm not the perfect friend, she treats me like I am, and loves me no matter what. She's SUCH a gem. There's really no one like her! So, of course it didn't take Kyle very long to realize that she was the girl her wanted to keep forever! Unfortunately for Kyle, she was dating someone else for a while, and even after they broke up, she just didn't think she had those kind of feelings for Kyle. It was hard to watch, because Kyle is honestly one of the best guys I'll ever know. But in a way, I'm glad it took Cami so long to come around, because Kyle and I got really close during those times. 

Fast forward two years, and Cami finally realized that she never wanted to lose our dear friend Kyle, and things moved quickly from there! FINALLY they are married, and I keep saying that it was the best day of my life! Haha, but it's true. When you get to see your best friends' dreams come true...not even your own happiness beats that. Their wedding day was pure bliss for everyone there. 

I'm still on an emotional high from this weekend! 

I just hope they both realize that it was a two-for-one kinda deal, cause I'm never giving up either of them. ;)

LOVE + PEOPLE

Tonight was a good night. I got to head up to Alpine Loop with an adorable couple to shoot a video for their first anniversary. I knew it would be a good shoot because I already knew that this couple a: was super attractive and b: had lots of personality; two things that always make for fun, easier filmmaking. However, never having met them in person, something that I didn't know before the shoot, something that you never really know and sometimes don't get to know, was the real sort of love and respect they have for each other. I know a lot of couples personally, and I've met many more, and it's sad, but not every couple has that. 

I feel like every time I film a wedding, someone will say, "You spend so much time filming details of weddings, I bet you know exactly what you want at yours!" I actually still have no idea, haha. 

I do, however, know what kind of love and relationship I want. 

Three of my favorite books are Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and The Red Pony, all written by 

one of my all-time favorite authors, John Steinbeck. A few years ago, I learned that while Steinbeck's son was away at boarding school, he wrote a letter to tell his father he was in love. 

Steinbeck wrote back, and the following was part of that letter to his son:

"First -- if you are in love -- that's a good thing -- that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. 

Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second -- There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -- not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness 

and even wisdom you didn't know you had."

I've always felt that was a wonderful way of putting it. 

But I think it can be applied to many of the relationships we have with others. 

Just something to think about.

In honor of Valentine's Day.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll already know that the past two Valentine's Days were more than perfect for me. (You can read about them here and here.) While it's different not having a significant other on this holiday, I still absolutely love it! I went to Walmart Thursday morning to pick up some valentines for my team and friends at work, and I just loved seeing the little middle school boys buying flowers and chocolate and teddy bears for their sweet little 14 year old girlfriends. At work, a co-worker and I spent a solid 20 minutes watching a man draw hearts and messages on the windows of his wife's van. I had a couple friends get engaged that day. And the next day, I heard plenty of cute stories about how couples spent their night. I love love. I love how selfless it has to be. Watching people be in love makes me giddy. And I really love a holiday that reminds people to show others that they care about them. 

I think I spoke a little too soon when I said that no matter what happens, nothing could make this week worse than the last. But it's hard to stay mad when there are so many lovely things in the world. Sometimes it's too much to take in, and I feel like I'm going to burst. Then I remember to stop trying to hold on to things, and it makes me grateful for every single moment of my stupid, lovely little life. 

I hope you weren't a cynic on Valentine's day. It doesn't matter if you had a valentine or not! Didn't you know that in your one little heart, you can love the whole entire world?

An Ally...

More than a friend.
More than a lover.
More than even a partner.
In this life, I think I am on the hunt for ally.
An ally in this world seems like it might be the best gift of all.
And since I believe myself to be more of a warrior than just a woman,
I'd say an ally is closer to what I need in this life.
Some one to take this world on with me.

For Friday.

"...as she looked at her friend's flowers, she noticed a beautiful golden Chrysanthemum, but was puzzled that it was growing in a dented old rusty bucket. Her friend explained, 'I ran short of pots, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting in this old pail..just for a little while, until I can put it out in the garden.

    - Thomas S. Monson

"Appearances can be so deceiving; such a poor measure of a person"

      -Thomas S. Monson

While appearances may allude to factors of inequality,

we are in no position to judge.

As imperfect beings, we all need the atonement.

"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down; it is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."

          -Thomas S. Monson

As that of the beautiful Chrysanthemum, we all have the eternal potential to become something great.

Our burdens, short-comings and limitations are but temporary.

click here and on the right side click the "listen" button to hear this beautiful and uplifting talk from the prophet of our church.

[sigh.]

My heart is relieved.
and so I smile.

A love story. {Especially for Berkley Sumner and Alexa Call!!!}

People often ask me: "who was your first love?"

There is only one answer that fits this question.

Benjamin Franklin "Benny the Jet" Rodriguez.

*sigh* Oh, Benny. You can leap over my fence any day.
He was the talented one, the cute one, the only nice one, the fast one,
AND he occasionally hallucinated sports' heroes.
What's not to love?!
Don't even try to tell me that you didn't swoon over him too.


It crushed my young heart to find out that at the end of the movie
he grew up to look like Tony Orlando..
but then again...according to IMBD, he grew up to be a firefighter and...
I think I have a crush on him all over again.

The movie is just plain stellar.
Plus, I love the advice given by "The Babe":
"Let me tell you something kid;
Everybody gets one chance to do something great.
Most people never take the chance, either because they're too scared,
or they don't recognize it when it spits on their shoes.
Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends.
Heroes get remembered but legends never die.
Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong."

Dear Berkley and Alexa,
Don't. be. a. goofus.
:)

I bid thee adieu.

In case you didn't know..

I'm Kalynn.
1. I like to be very punctual to EVERYTHING. everything. I don't believe in being "fashionably late".
2. but I don't like to be rushed.
3. I will most likely remember everything you ever say to me. I just do.
4. my favorite scriptures are 2 Nephi 2:11 & John 14:18, in no particular order.
5. I will attend SUU in the fall and I will absolutely love it. I know I will. It's gonna be FUN.
6. I love learning.
7. reading..is what I do.
8. On my calendar, I write down what I did that day. And then I save it at the end of the year. I still have my very first calendar from 5 years back. With everything I did that year on each day.
9. I often brush my teeth in the shower. while I'm letting my conditioner soak in. Just to save time.
10. I tend to worry about things either too much or too little.
11. I have way to many clothes. Most of which I should give to someone less fortunate than me. But I sometimes feel like my clothes have memories. memories which I don't want to forget. memories which I'd hate to give up. I know I should give them away anyway..we'll see.
12. I used to lose things a lot. I still do. but i think I'm getting better at finding them.
13. I took piano for 6 years, but I didn't have the self discipline {like Julie} to practice enough. I didn't even make it to level two.
14. Julie is my sister. The second oldest of the six children. She produced my first niece, and my first nephew.
15. Sometimes, i drive around aimlessly. listening to whatever happens to be my favorite song on that day over and over and over. I sing with it. even though the windows are down. I come back home when I'm sick of the song. And then I get sad that I wore out my favorite song.
16. I'm antsy. But I don't always have to be doing something. Matt is grateful for that.
17. I can make some REALLY. ugly. faces.
18. Aaron says I'm touchy. I like giving out hugs, pats on the back, & kisses on the forehead and cheeks.
19. BUT. I do NOT like to give high fives. Those bug me. Don't ask me why. I don't even know.
20. I'm extremely indecisive. I know that's an unlikable character trait. I wish I wasn't. I drive myself crazy. But even the tiniest choices are an important part of life.
21. I don't believe in hand sanitizer. I highly doubt it works. Mostly, it just just rubs those germs around. Ask Matt. He knows.
22. I mean Matt Ludlow. He's my best friend. He's been stuck with me most everyday this summer so far. But we have fun.
23. Abigail is my other bestie. But she's a full time worker now. I miss her lots of times. She's a beauty.
24. My mom. FREAKS. about EVERYTHING. she's a little nuts. But I have a great great great BIG amount of love for that woman. She birthed me. She fed me. She's always giving and never ever taking. She is a beautiful human being.
25. My oldest sister, Melissa, is like my second mother. She took care of me during those few months when my mama lived at the hospital. She still takes care of me. Always has. Always will.
26. My time perception is actually very sketchy. That could have been a week or two. But I could swear it felt like months, so I believe it was.
27. I'm not a big milk fan. but chocolate milk? well, I'm it's BIGGEST fan.
28. I feel you meet every single person in your life for a reason. And that they are part of your life for that moment in time because you are supposed to learn from each other. Therefore, I become really attached to people and it takes me a long time to move on from them completely.
29. It's actually kind of abnormal how much I love to love people. Even this lady at walmart one time who told me not to give that strange man gas money cause it was dangerous. She was just taking care of me, you know? She was so nice...
30. I love to play games. All games. Even the ones I hate. I get that from my mother.
31. I love composition notebooks, because Abby and I turn them in to the Blender or the Waffle Iron.
32. The Blender is basically a journal that I share back and forth with Abby, and we share our thoughts on each others lives and feelings. We're currently on Blender #3. I wish she'd write back real soon.
33. The Waffle Iron is the same thing, only a 4-way journal between me, Abby, Matt Meyers, and Matt Ludlow. We're about halfway through our first one.
34. I just like to write a lot. I'm not saying I'm good, I'm just saying I like it.
35. Although..I did get the only A on that one assignment in college writing. :)
36. And My papa says I'm a good writer.
37. I love my papa. He's the best. I can guarantee it.
38. I really do believe in Jesus Christ. And that he is the savior of this world. And that he is my big brother.
39. My oldest brother is Derek. He's a got a wife. and a little baby on the way. I love new babies.
40. My other big brother is Adam. He is a goofus. {don't be a goofus. Don't be a goofus! Name that movie..} He freaks a lot. Like everyone in my family. :) but he is brilliant. and he has a bigger heart than anyone I know.
41. My younger brother Nathan holds the specialest {it's a word. deal.} of all places in my heart. If you don't know why, ask somebody else. I don't like to talk about it. Unless you're Matt. Then I talk about it too much probably.
42. I enjoy rollerskating from time to time. And I still like Classic Skating, because I didn't grow up here.
43. I had a BBC News phase, but recently I don't like to know exactly what's going on in the world. It just..scares me. It really always has. Ask Adam. and my mom.
44. I don't know why God gave me everything good in this world. But I sure am grateful.
45. I would be nowhere without the amazing friends I've been fortunate enough to gather.
46. I don't like goodbyes..because I usually make myself a fool. I'm bad at them. They're weird..hard..and awkward for me. always.
47. It really doesn't take a lot to make me happy. Mostly, just a certain amount of sugar in my blood.
48. That's because I'm hypoglycemic. It's not a big deal.
49. I want to be married in the temple someday. But not soonish. Gimme 5 years. at least. please?
50. I'm one of those people that chews on their pens at school. And I don't think it's gross. I like to believe my mouth is relatively clean.
51. I'm always have a bunch of crap with me wherever I go. Like. camera, phone, water bottle, keys, wallet..I bring em all wherever I go.
52. I document my life, and the lives of all my friends, with my camera. I'm always taking pictures.
53. But I'm not a photographer. I can't make my pictures look all great and deep like some people can. I wish I could.
54. Sometimes I tend to be violent. but not for reals. I just..throw stuff. and.. hit people..but I'm a weakling. It's not like it hurts.
55. let's just say..I'm not short.
56. Recently, I like to shout "You're good!!" at people. All the time.
57. It's not like I hate the mountains here, I just LOVED and MISS those beautiful red mountains of St. George.
58. I like hiking. Even though I suck a breathing during such an activity. It's just..chill. and fun. and you discover lovely places.
59. It's not like I talk tons, but when I do talk I like to be heard. So when I'm in a big group of people, i talk loud. Just. Deal with it. I don't wanna forget what I was gonna say.
60. Which happens. a LOT.
61. I like to sing a lot of times. and I can memorize lyrics easily. I've been singing my whole life. It comes with being a Petersen. but mostly I do it cause I enjoy it.
62. AFHS CHAMBER CHOIR 2009-2010.
63. I wanna learn to play the guitar. And I want to have fun singing time with my second grade class.
64. If you didn't gather, I want to teach second grade. It is the best grade. You color. Love books. learn to add numbers. learn the months of the year. learn to be nice. learn to listen. have singing time. It. is. the. best. IN LOVE with it.
65. I have a money-spending problem. Matt helps out with that, though.
66. I know I'm spoiled. You don't have to tell me.
67. But I don't think I'm a brat about it.
68. I like typing stuff. I can't wait to go to college and have my own laptop so that I can type all my notes in class. That makes me uber stoked.
69. When I'm not feeling shy, I can converse with ALMOST anyone. Abby says I'm empathetic. But really. I could get into a good, deep conversation with..your grandma? a friend? That lady at the grocery store? As long as there wasn't any pressure, and not a bunch of people listening in.
70. I make a good listener. I promise. Ask anyone.
71. I like doing YOGA. and NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES. They hurt. It's satisfying.
72. I enjoy music. like..all music. Rock is my all-time favorite, but I've always liked Rascal Flatts. Then I went through that 60's rock phase, which I still utterly love, but recently I like to listen to crappy rap on the radio with Matt. It's funny. and fun. And gives you lots of energy. It's best on the radio, because the radio is censored. for the most part.
73. I hate it when I'm driving around and I can feel that my car's alignment is off. It bugs the crap out of me. But not literally.
74. There is this one hill by my house, down the street from the temple, that I love to go down because I don't have to push the brakes or the gas the whole way down and my car just goes perfectly 5 over the speed limit. It may be the most satisfying thing ever.
75. I hate it when people don't use their blinkers when they're driving. Or when their blinker is on for no reason. Therefore, I always use my signal appropriately.
76. I like to scrapbook I guess, but mostly in bursts. I should learn to do a little each week, but usually i just do a bunch at a time. I'm way behind on this year's scrapbook.
77. Can you believe I'm almost 19? So weird.
78. I love my family. a whole heck of a lot. There's a bunch of us. We're crazy together. We're close. It's unique. and I love it. I hope to produce such a family. Way to go, parents.
79. I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am. I know God's plan. I'll follow him in faith.
80. I like primary songs still. I know like..all of them.
81. During the school year I always went to bed by 9, because I knew I had to wake up early. This summer, I go to bed around midnight every night and usually wake up at 6:30 to feed my brother. I think I don't mind going to bed so late because I always figure "it's summer. I can sleep in the middle of the day." but I like to be productive, so I rarely do that. It's beginning to catch up with me.
82. I have a great deal of amount of love for some of my high school teachers. Ingersoll. Shelley. Selytina. Dzubak. Warby. to name a few.
83. Brielle Porter. Long story short, Heavenly Father KNEW we needed each other. I'm a hundred percent positive that we were even best friends in heaven.
84. My heart holds a great amount of love for Audie Bishop and Monica Law. They were my most favorite Y.W leaders ever. They loved me. You know?
85. I like to make chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips.
86. That's a lie. I like to make chocolate chip cookie dough without the chocolate chips. and then just eat the dough.
87. I'm determined to become a really really really good cook in college.
88. I'm gonna cook dinner for my boyfriends every Sunday at SUU.
89. Boyfriends meaning Boys that are my just-friends. Or if I ever get one that isn't. :)
90. I HATE feet. hate hate hate. They're ugly. All of them. Especially my brother Adam's when we were younger. I think that's why I hate them. Don't worry, his are better now, but the loath is still there.
91. I love vintage things. and memory lane. but not my memory lane so much as other peoples.
92. when I think of something funny, it's the hardest thing ever in the world for me to hold back a smile on my face.
93. It's also hard when someone texts me something funny. I can't hide my emotions while texting. I frown, smile, or laugh out loud. Every time.
94. I don't like mustard, and I only like ketchup on hot dogs.
95. I am IN LOVE with fry sauce though. I could marry it.
96. I love trees. the big kind. Good for climbing, looking at, and building tree houses in.
97. I'm still mad that the people who moved into my first house cut down that huge tree.
98. I hold grudges. I'm sorry. But at least I'll tell you why I'm mad at you. SOME people don't even give you that courtesy.
99. I like that ice cream with all the bright colors. Superman, I think it's called.
100. I like to eat ramen noodles with my friends. We sometimes have ramen noodle parties.
101. We're also known for having banana parties.
102. I still love all those old disney movies. Aladdin, Lion King, Toy Story, Sleeping Beauty.
103. I love the Swan Princess too, but it's not a disney movie.
104. My favorite movie is Gladiator. Second place is a two-way tie for Sandlot and the Goofy Movie.
105. when doing a school project, I like to work alone. I don't like group projects. I don't like relying on other people for my grade. Plus, I work better alone.
106. I. am. NOT. most likely to be a vet. I don't even like animals that much.
107. Except our dog Mrs. Bones. She's alright.
108. I adore Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Russel Crowe, and Julia Roberts.
109. I love old Doris Day movies.
110. I think it's funny the Jake Hess' favorite movie is "You've Got Mail."