Reaching for Higher Ground

What a great couple of weeks. Things continue to move forward slowly with Kaylinn and I, but moving they are. What an amazing girl! If I could only begin to describe how amazing she really is, I would fill up about 20 posts worth, and that would only be the beginning. One thing that she and I have decided to do, being that she is endowed, is to try and go to the temple every week. This was our first week going, and being that I hadn't been in a while, was surprised to see some of the "changes". Threw me off a little and was intrigued by the changes. But most of all, I can't believe that I had been putting off the opportunity to feel such peace. You see, for whatever reasons I just had not been to the temple in a really long time. Something always came up when I wanted to go. I even made the attempt to head out to the Newport temple (tiny by the way) about 3 weeks ago and blasted MapQuest sent me on a wild goose chase and I showed up 3 minutes late for the session. I am just so blessed to be dating a girl who is worthy to go to the temple and has the desire to go on a weekly basis. I have always had certain curiosities about things in the temple, none that have made me doubt, but when I asked her about them she just said, "I don't know. I don't really think about them. I just accept them for what they are and realize that someday I will know." Like I said, amazing! I am excited to fulfill this goal we have made to go to the temple on a weekly basis. How did I get so lucky?

Another thing we have decided to do is to do a scripture study every time we see each other. I just had this really strong impression that she and I should make a solid foundation to our relationship. That we shouldn't just focus on the physical benefits of a relationship, but to create a deep emotional and spiritual foundation. It has turned out to be such a great experience and she has so many great insights that I have never seen before. And what better habit to get into now as a couple than having a prayerful scripture study.

We also tried to do as my chiropractor suggested to me a couple of months ago, a sugar fast. It is so hard to stay away from any form of non-healthy sugars. But, I was able to make it three weeks before I caved. This was the temptress, Jogurt. It is a frozen yogurt bar of pure divinity. You can choose from like 10 flavors of yogurt and then mix in whatever you want. I highly recommend the english toffee ice cream with heath bar add-in. Pretty sure I could eat that continuously for the rest of my life. So, being that the sugar fast did not work, we are trying the moderation thing cause cold turkey is just not happening! He also told me that it really needs to be like 80/20 anyway. haha I dare you to try it...NOT EASY! It does help you feel really healthy though, especially when you are eating loads of veggies!

To answer any speculations out there...no, we are not engaged. Time is the best tool for building a solid foundation. If it is meant to last forever, than taking a few minuscule months to make sure that it will work is fine by me. The only way for me not to destroy this one is just to take it one step at a time. She is so supportive and I have never met anyone who wants to work for me as much as I do for her. L-U-C-K-Y is what I am.

Everything else in life continues to move forward. I am excited to see my sister and her boys here next week. I sure do miss the family a lot and am hoping that I will be able to utilize my vacation days in a more efficient manner this next year. On that note, I will say adieu.

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Taking the Plunge...and Loving It!

So, after days of me contemplating about whether or not I should just go for it, I decided to take the plunge and see what happens. All I can say is that I am very glad I did. Kaylinn is absolutely an amazing person with so much going for her. I seriously have a hard time focusing and just can't wait to be around her again. There is a lot to say about her, but I definitely do not have the time to spill it all out via blog. Lets just say that I am in very good hands, and very fortunate to have this opportunity. My parents (who happened to be in town) and sister Malissa were able to meet her this last weekend and they were very impressed by her. I will admit, I was a little nervous to see how they would react being that she and I haven't known each other too long, but they liked her a lot. BONUS! I really have never felt so happy and excited to be with someone. It has only been a couple of weeks I know, but we are playing it smart and making sure that we let time be the most important factor in our relationship. She really is so great, and I know you all would really like her. I know I do!

Anyway, here is a picture of her for all of you curious followers. The first is my favorite pic of her and then the other is one we took at Disneyland while riding the train around the park. She is almost as obsessed about that place as I am...but not quite! And I do know what you are thinking...the most incredible smile ever. :)

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Pushing Back the Fear

Well, here it is....September has come and gone and I can't even believe it. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Which, if you think about it, really makes sense since I haven't written since the last full moon. So, in a very particular order, here are the things that have happened of note in the last month.

6. I finally finished the Twilight series. This rage started for me a year ago in Florida when I had nothing to do and all my friends were reading them. I thought the idea for the final book was extremely good, but I was fairly disappointed with the ending.


5. I went to see Wicked. All I can say is oh my jolly-goodness. It is absolutely amazing. I have seen it twice and will be going this weekend with my parents and then hopefully next weekend too. LOVE IT!

4. My position here has been extended until Jan. Even, though I am in a temporary position still, at least I have the guarantee of a job until then, unlike most of my fellow interns. I have been asked to join a basketball team with a bunch of parkside big shots, so I am hoping that this will turn into some sort of permanent postion for me.

3. I think that for the first time since we were kids that my relationship with my family has started to strengthen again. I have missed being able to laugh and have fun with my fam. So, when I went home this last month, I made a conscious effort to spend a lot of time with the family that was there. I have also tried to make a better effort with keeping in contact with them, which has always been kind of difficult for some reason, but I am loving the results.

2. Rise and Shout the Cougars are out! For the first time in 2 years I was able to go to a BYU football game. Luckily I went to the one where they cremated UCLA 59-0. I also have gotten satellite TV so that I can watch every single game and not even feel bad about it. Amazing.

1. Around the end of August, my sister Malissa and i were talking and she recommended (being that my social life down here has been close to non-existent) that I try and sign up for a singles website. I was not too excited about the idea. My friend Courtney and I checked one out right after I got back from my mission and I just didn't like the idea. So, about 2 weeks ago I was doing my scripture study and I read in 3 Nephi 14:7-8 "Ask and it shall be given unto you; SEEK and ye shall FIND; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For EVERYONE that asketh receiveth; and he that SEEKETH, FINDETH; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." I have never felt stronger in my life that the reason I am 27 and without a band on my finger is because I had given up.

Literally, 4 days later I got an email from an lds singles website offering me a free 7 day trial. Putting aside my pride I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I put in a search and browsed two pages and was pretty much done. Then, on the third page a girl caught my eye. The most AMAZING smile I had ever seen! To make a long story short, I messaged her, got her number, set up a date. We chatted a couple of times before our first date for many hours and something inside of me told me that this girl is completely legit. That was my biggest worry about the website, fake people.

Her name is Kaylinn Wright from the San Francisco area living in Chino (about 25 minutes from me) She is a 25 year old high school teacher. Being that she has a love for Disneyland, we went there for our first date and ate at the Blue Bayou. This girl is absolutely gorgeous and amazing and things went so incredibly well. It didn't feel like a first date at all, more like going on a date with someone I have wanted to ask out for a really long time. That date led to another date, and we have spent a lot of time with each other in the last couple of weeks.

Then, for whatever reason, I started to get nervous. I can't even begin to explain why in the world I would get nervous. Maybe because I couldn't believe that a girl of this caliber would be even slightly interested in me. But I think, more than that, it is I was nervous that things were going SO well SO fast that we had missed a step somewhere and that we hadn't been able to set up a solid foundation. By no means did I want to take any steps backwards with her, just slower steps forward. I have been in a situation like this before, and I got burned badly, so I just wanted to be cautious. It was the hardest conversation I have ever had to initiate in my life, knowing that she might get upset and not understand where I was coming from. I knew, and I felt deeply that this was the right thing to do. So, you can imagine my surprise when she told me that she was completely supportive of the idea. She was very honest with me and said that it hurt her a little (something I never, ever want to do again) but that she understands that for anything to be successful that there needs to be that sure foundation. I just hope she also understands that I want to build that foundation so that it will be successful.

So, I woke up this morning feeling so good about everything. I get to see her again on Wednesday, which can't come soon enough, and I will just continue to enjoy everything about her. But, my followers out there, let me know if I am crazy. Is it normal to feel that way? Why am I such an idiot?

Finale: So, those are the recent events of my life. My #1 has definitely been the highlight since my move to California. Life is really, really good right now. :)

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The Twists and Turns of Life....Ugh...

So, after 6 successful months at Disneyland I decided to take a little vacation home to just get away for awhile. It was super good to see some friends like Brandon and Michelle (which thanks for letting me crash!) and a whole lot of people from back home that always put a smile on my face. As I was away, and on my trip home by myself which consisted of a lot of think time, I felt very strongly that I should start thinking about my next goal in life.....getting a Masters degree. It just seems to keep slapping me in the face that I should really start thinking about it.

As I was visiting some friends on the BYU campus, a friend of mine told me about a job that was becoming available soon where I could work doing something I love, get paid more than Disney, and have my Masters degree entirely paid for. Wow, talk about throwing a wrench in the system. I have been struggling a little bit at Disneyland lately because I have the worst schedule ever. I am always working nights and weekends and I never get to have any kind of social life. AND to make matters worse, I was watching "The Rookie" the other night and there is a quote that Dennis Quaid's dad says in the movie that really kinda hit me hard: "Son, there comes a time when you need to stop doing what you want to do, and start doing what you are meant to do."

I kinda feel like this whole Disney thing is something that I have always wanted to do and so Heavenly Father has kinda paved the way for me to have that experience. Now, it boils down to me needing to find out what He would have me do. That is the hardest part in life you know? Aligning our will with His. So as I am really trying to do just that, it gets harder and harder to make that decision. I will wait and see if I even get offered that job back in Utah before making any decisions. But, we will see where these next couple of months will take me.

Everything else seems to be going well. I was in that earthquake the other day and didn't even feel it cause I was driving. My first real earthquake and I completely missed it. I was so disappointed! I was really anticipating going through my first one and a 5.8 on the scale too! Oh well, I am sure there will be others! :)

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A Busy, Busy Month

So, I am probably the worst blogger known to man....but I am sure you can forgive me for that. I have finished my internship and I happy to announce that I have been promoted to the next phase of my career. It is called a TSA (Temporary Salaried Assistant) and I will be a manager over the Disneyland Resort Shared Services which covers the three hotel lifeguards, the Disney Dining phone line, and Guest Billing. Pretty much all that means is that I am officially a Disney employee and a fairly permanent resident of the Orange County. This position is until the end of September and then my fate is truly decided. But I have a strong feeling that this is where I am meant to be.

My family came down to visit and this included my brothers family which I haven't seen in 3 years. They have the cutest little boys and they are pretty much the biggest handful ever, but it was so fun to be a part of their first Disney experience. It was great to be with my parents and some of my family again, though the Morrell's have their share of disagreements, it was a pretty good week.

Things are going super well in the ward. I finally got a calling and I was super excited about it. I then got promoted and have to work the next three Sundays, oh well, my time will come. I have made a good set of friends and everything seems to be settling down a bit. I will have to update you on the dating life at a later time, cause right now I am not even sure what is going on. :) And so is life for me as a single person.

It is also that time that I am usually getting ready for EFY and let me tell you how nice it is to not worry about it. The program is amazing, but my time was done. I am excited for everyone that will be participating, but count me out!

Thanks for keeping in touch and let me know when you are coming to SoCal. I can't make any promises but I will see what I can do to help.

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