Words of Wisdom...

...that will keep a smile on your face, keep your motivation in place, and help your dreams come true.

You're good, but you're going to be great. You're the best, but you're going to get better. Sometimes the paths we take are long and hard, but remember: those are always the ones that lead to the most beautiful views. Challenges come along, inevitably; how you respond to them determines who you are - deep down inside - and everything you're going to be. Increase the chances of reaching your goals by working at them gradually. The very best you can do is all that is asked of you. Realize that you are capable of working miracles of your own making. Remember that opportunities have a reason for knocking on the door, and the right ones are there for the taking. You don't always have to win, but you do need to know what it takes to be a winner. It's up to you to find the key that unlocks the door to a more fulfilling life. Understand that increased difficulty brings you nearer to the truth of how to survive it - and get beyond it. Cross your bridges. Meet your challenges. Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer and closer to your heart. Get rid of the "if only's," and get on with whatever you need to do to get things right. Go after what you want in life, with all the blessings of all the people who care about you. And find out what making your wishes come true really feels like.

-Collin McCarty

Laugh often and Love lots

Well.... It has been a GREAT week! I have been thinking alot about Mark and I being up here and how blessed we are to have this opportunity! I realized that you have to LAUGH often, be positive and LOVE every experience to have success.

Mark and I have had the best week of sales this week and it seemed like we LAUGHED more this week than ever! Finally, I am able to shrug off the people we encounter while knocking doors:) The other week, I was knocking with Chase and he said: While on my mission, my companion and I played a game while knocking. He said that it helped him overcome feeling down while knocking. Its a challenge: who can overcome more objections and stay on the door the longest. It is hilarious to see what you can come up with to annoy someone. There was one door that the guy literally slammed the door so hard i thought it broke off its hinges! Chase walks off the doorstep and says, "That was 5! I win." 

I have come to LOVE where we are at in our life!

Karli, Indra and I had fun on Saturday with the boys! Ruth's plane left Saturday afternoon.. we were sad that she had to leave so soon. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and then drove to Jack Hyde Park to watch the sunset and lay on blankets to watch the stars! This is what I LOVE most about Washington! It is just gorgeous here... Mark and I layed on a blanket, and watched the sunset all in front of the Ocean. We LAUGHED all night- It felt like we were dating again:) 

You have to laugh at this picture of the boys having some bonding time:) Who knows what they were talking about...

There are so many things that I have learned up here that I will take with me. One is that -The more you prepare the less fear you will have. It is with everything that you do.. if you are competing in a sport, knocking doors for work, or just life in general. The Lord asks us to have a food storage to prepare for tragedies, this way we won't have as much fear in a tragic event. Today in Church the speaker said two things that caught my attention. She said, "The Lord doesn't ask us to prepare EVERYTHING, but he does ask us to prepare every NEEDFUL thing." Sometimes I get caught up in my to do lists and stress myself out about getting everything done... She said, "You need to put your list into 3 categories 1.essentials 2. necessities 3. nice to do's!" This way the Gospel is brought more into your home and blessings will follow leaving a happy home. I hope that this week continues to bring blessings and that it beats last week!!

Just a little adventure....

It was lots of fun having my family here.. we spent a lot of time in Seattle with them! The first thing that we did was Temple Work and the Seattle Temple:) the flowers they have planted in the front of the temple are so pretty! In Washington you can plant so many kinds because it rains so much!

We saw the Space Needle, The Music Museum, Pikes Market, The Seattle Aquarium, The Art Glass Blowing Museum and we stayed a night in Port Townsend and then took a ferry back home to Seattle:) We went shopping in Seattle too! My parents bought Mark and I Columbia rain jackets so while we are here working we aren't soaked at the end of the night! It was a blast having them here! We love them so much:) and i have missed my sisters too!

Pikes Market is a little market with lots of different booths set up for display! They had several flower booths where they would arrange these bouquets! They also had several fruit and vegetable stands as well as fish markets. I never knew exactly what some of these fish looked like.. so it was interesting (i guess you could say) to see what you have been eating:) The Music Museum was way fun! My family is really in to music and singing so we could have played there all day! There are a bunch of different things you can do there from recording your voice to playing as a band and messing around with different keyboards and guitars! My dad played the drums in highschool and so we were able to rock it as a group:) our band name was OHH Snaps:) haha we had lots of fun here!

On Friday night we went to Port Townsend.. a cute little old fashioned town. They had a bunch of different little shops, sort of like Downtown Park City:) My mom chose a fun hotel to stay in called Pallace Inn (i think..?) haha but all the rooms were decorated differently and named after ladies:) hahahaha our room was called Miss Pearl! Long ago it was an Inn that the ladies stayed in on their 'girls night outs'! My mom and little sisters did not like it very much, BUT Mark and I felt like it was our wedding night the way our hotel was.

We were driving around Port Townsend and saw this sign on the side of the road:) i just had to take a picture of it!! Mark said, "There would be a sign with your name and Tidy on it." I guess Mark hates that I am a bit of a clean freak:) The bays around Seattle are just gorgeous! My mom and I covet the cute houses along the sides of the ocean... we were able to see so many jelly fish while riding the ferry back to Seattle! I was hoping to see a whale, but just my luck.. i didn't. haha but thats ok!!

Darens friend Indra finally arrived!! She went out knocking with Darren on Saturday and said it was awful (it really is) haha. Darren, Indra, Matt, Pete, Garret, Derek, Chase, Mark and I went to Red Lobster that night for dinner and then went to Gig Harbor! We caught the sunset just perfectly! Ruth (Jake's girlfriend) got here Saturday night too! We will have lots of fun girl time while they are here:)