The life of a firefly.

Out here, on the east coast, there are these things I have discovered called fireflies.:) 

Everyone who is native the area, judges the fact that I am SO amazed by them.

Last night, I caught one.

 As I was doing so I was talking to a friend and asked him the point of fireflies.

My answer was simple, yet so profound to me at the time.

"To make your yard more beautiful",  was my answer.

I being selfish, applied this to myself. It made me stop and think. This beautiful creature has no other prupose on this earth than to make my life more beautiful. Then I was brought to the thought of flowers, and sunsets. Candles, laughing and color. Temples are beautifully amazing, I think because heaven is the same way.

There is so much in this life to behold. So much to enjoy.

The fact that there are fireflies is a testimony to me that God wants me to be happy.

He sends me fireflies so that I can make it through the tough times. Let me tell you, there are tough times. I am pretty sure anyone who has lived past the age of 1, knows this. There will always be tough times, but I  know that as I focus on the beautiful and good things in life, that they will pass through me and I will be better because of them.

Just some thoughts.

Yesterday, I went to the beach. In annapolis. Part of the Chesapeake. Then to a first day of summer BBQ with some really great people.

The Beach.

I love to shower. bananas. sun roofs and the windows down. i love classical music. running. bodies of water. and people who live life and don't care what other people think.

My life is great when I focus on the people I encounter on my way.

I miss my family a baby bit. I miss my friends back home. But here is where I need to be.

My new Philiophy in life is now: simplicity.

 Also, side note: I went to Arlington National Cemetary last weekend. I enjoyed it SO much. The whole time I was reminded of my Grandpa. I was inspired by the countless lives of courage. I loved every moment of it. I am grateful.

Classy.

So this one time, now, my day to day

 life vs. adventure ratio is higher than

it has ever been previously.

 I have done 6 things on my bucketlist I would like to share.

#1: caught a crab.
 This consisted of me using a rope with a raw piece of chicken on the end and waiting. Waiting, and waiting. Waiting for what you might ask? I will answer: waiting for a crab to attatch itself to my piece of chicken and then slowly pull it up. Once visible, it was caught with a net. Yes, this takes intense concentration and skill (not really any at all). Yet, I waited and pulled. Ending up with a baby crab. Had to throw that one back. I named it, don't worry. Benny.

#2: Slept under the stars on the bank of the Chesapeke Bay.
 It was such lovely night, I brought out a sleeping bag and watched the stars until I feel asleep. Running total of shooting stars:1. I woke up to the sunrise at 5:30. It is probably the best thing I have done since being out here.

#3: Jumping spontaneously into jelly fish infested waters.
Yep, I got stung. I wasn't thinking and thought a dip in the bay would be FUN. I realized that my implusiveness is not always the safest characteristic to have, but hey it only hurt for a baby bit, and then swelled. I was told at leas one million times that peeing on it takes the sting away... didn't try it, but thanks for the advice.

#4: Went sailing.
 This inpsired me to live in North Carolina when I get older. I love the east coast. The fashion, the architecture, the history: all of it. There are so many people out here, everything is so much more diverse than my life in the mormon bubble. I am not complaing, I am just grateful for the oppurtunity to rub shoulders with some amazing people that have different philosophies than I do. Oh right, sailing. Loved it, sooo relaxing. I am definitly more of a speed boat type girl, press down the peddle and go really fast... that's my style.

#5: Saw fireflies.
It was the best thing that has happened to me since I have been here. Fireflies are the most captivating bug I have ever met. I watched them for at least 10 minutes, in front of a strangers house. They had no idea what I was doing, but their fireflies where so great. It was definitly an indescribable moment. If I HAD to describe it in one word, it would be: classy. I have never seen them before and all I wanted to do was take them all home and put them in my room. Although, up close and without a light... not so cute.

#6: Gained a deeper testimony of the gospel and the church.
 Still in progress and will be the rest of my life but while out here I have had many times where I had no where to go except my knees. Sometimes God is the only one in whom comfort can be found and strength can come from. Life is hard sometimes and only focusing on that is not a very fun way to live. After a while I got sick of that view because I truly do have SO much to be grateful for. So I prayed to see the good in my, and my little Katie self has found she has no room to receive all the blessings God has helped me realized. I have gained a more real testimony of my Savior's love and reality. Despite how impossible someting feels, with God NOTHING is impossible.

 And that is why my life is beautiful today.

Some like it burnt.

Soooo, tonight I burned dinner.

 I was making chicken and rice burritos and the rice burned real bad to the bottom of the pan. I have yet to burn anything. Well, if grilled cheese counts, then yes.... once before. I was able to fix it and make it look like it never happend, there was just alot less rice than I started with. Yet, by the end of the summer, my cooking skills will hopefully be epic. I have gained a love for cooking and a million pounds. But hey, I feel like it is worth it.

Adventures of the week:

Tornado warning today. Absolute pouring rain. I amcompletly in love.  Summer storms rock my world.

On my run today there was a real live turtle crossing the road. Me and Megan named in Rodney.

On my run on Tuesday, I left and it was drizzling: 2 minutes later it was pouring. I came home 20 minutes later completly soaking wet... and it was beautiful.

I got to eat white chocolate popcorn while watching the TLC channel. 2 of the most grand things.

I love Owen, Olive and Spencer. Sometimes they drive me a little crazy, but the fact that they smile when I come in the room is great. I would consider them my best friends right now.

Whenever I go to institute it is exactly what I need to hear.

My little sister inspired me. I love her view of life and want to incoporate it into my life, I called it the plan of ulitmate domination.

My thought process went from "what is being out here preparing me for" to "what happened in the past to prepare me for this"and then I got inpsired. God is very involved in my life. I can't see any farther than next week, but he sees it all. He knows what I need.

He also knows that sometimes I freak out, he helps me through that. He knows that rain is my favorite weather and that sometimes frosted flakes are THE BIGGEST tempation for me to aviod.

My friend from the ward is getting baptized tomorrow and I am making brownies for it. Yep, it is what she requested. I have never been to baptism of someone my age, I find it super refreshing. I also really love missionaries. The 2 missionaries in my ward are super great. It's wierd that missionaries are my same age. For the longest time, they were real old. Now, I am older than most of them.

 I love how there are so many different people in this world all in search of  many different things. But we all want to be happy. Everyone is the sum of what they have been through and my goal is to understand that and enjoy the person they have become because of that.

I fell in love with bananas reccently and they are SO good. They go well in oatmeal, which is what has become a regular with my morning routine.

I am blessed. These are just a couple reason why life is beautiful. I am now going to go say goodnight to the cutest little boys and then spend my Friday night dominating pile of laundry that has accumulated ALL over my room.

These are the faces I get to wake up every morning.

My first Nation Baseball game... worst hot dog ever.

Went to the zoo with Tara's super cute nanny children, and we saw llamas.