Top 5 Loves of my Life

Since moving back home I have realized how blessed I am.  There are five blessings I am particularly thankful for that have become apparent in the past week.
Numero Uno:  Running
WHAT? Bethany running?!  I know, this is a shocker to hear coming from my mouth.  For all of those people that know me, running is not my thing.  Actually, any type of cardio workout is not my think; in general exercise is not my thing.  I guess moving back home gave me motivation or I just don't want to be at home very often, so running gets me out of the house (the second option is probably more accurate).  My trick to getting myself up and running is dubstep and my alarm.  I have been setting my alarm 45 minutes earlier than normal.  I instantly jump out of bed and get out the door, that way I don't allow my brain to wake up and realize what insane activity I am putting my body through at such an ungodly hour of the morning.  Second, good ole Pandora Dubstep radio has been taking my mind off of the intense chest pain and leg cramps that I experience as I jog my small two mile loop around the neighborhood. 
Despite my negative attitude towards running, I have been so grateful to feel and experience the beautiful weather God has created.  My first day of running, the weather was sad and rainy but I absolutely adored the water drizzling on me.  I have also ran in fogginess and the shining sun.  As I begin to struggle when I run, I look at the sky and thank God for His weather, and it really helps me to keep pushing through.  Go weather and go running!
Numero Dos: Old and New friends
After being back in L-town I have realized how much I miss all the friends I have made at SPU.  I did not realize how difficult it would be to move back or how quickly I would feel sadness.  I was excited to receive texts from a few SPU-ers about how I am doing and to know I haven't been forgotten.  Not to mention, I got a call from a good friend who is spending Spring break in Hawaii.  I definitely felt special since I would not call anyone if I were in such a glorious place for a short amount of time.  On the other hand, the older friendships I have back home have really helped me stay strong through this change.  Lynden is quite a boring little town, but "the group" was reunited and my nights have been filled with movies and laughter.  Our high school traditions haven't changed and I am happy for the consistency.
Numero Tres: My Family!
It is Saturday early morning, my first day back home, and my phone is vibrating as my brother is trying to call me to babysit.  I, unfortunately, had to say no because the countless suitcases and bins were screaming, telling me to unpack them.    But, the fact that I was home for less than 12 hours and I was already being called to babysit made me recognize how badly my family needs me :P  I am the number one babysitter and top on the list; this is a great thing to know.  Sunday, I got to ride in the backseat with my nephew as I went to church with my oldest brother and sister-in-law.  He was babbling the whole way and talking about how he wanted a ta-ta (Tic Tac) and being all cutesy.  Wednesday I got to take care of him for the majority of the day.  I even got to accompany him to his final mother-child dance class.  I was pretty stoked to say the least.  Even though I am hesitant to be back home, my niece and nephews are proof that they need their Auntie B and I need them to keep me busy.
Numero Cuatro: My cellular device
Smart Phones are one of the greatest inventions ever created.  When I dropped my phone and completely shattered the front screen, I was devastated and realized the dependency I have with my phone.  I would like to think I am not like every other teenager or person out their who are pathetically attached to their phone and feels naked without it, but I probably am. 
There are four aspects of my phone that have major impacts on my life: the Navigation system, the Mars Hill App, the Pandora App, and the Facebook App.  Within the first month of living in Seattle I got lost with the transit system but thankfully my phone was able to guide me back to my humble abode at SPU. There have been countless instances when I needed my phone to lead me to destinations safely and on time.  I recently got the Mars Hill App after attending the church in Seattle.  I have been listening to Mark Driscoll's sermons as I get ready in the morning and I absolutely love it.  It is such an easy way to hear more of God's word and have it accessible to me at any time; since I do have my phone on me at ALL times.  The Pandora App has also become a good friend of mine since I found out I can hook up my phone to my speaker system in my ghetto granny car.  Now I can have Dubstep bumpin as I mob the roads of Lynden like a boss.  I could never leave out the FacebookFB background check.
Numero Cinco: Rite Aid
This one is kind of a random one that I am thankful for.  Earlier this week my bestest friend in the world, Madeline, and I went to Rite Aid to find her father new shoe laces.  Unfortunately for Madeline, Rite Aid did not have the exact shoe laces her father needed but I was impressed with their sparkle charcoal nail polish and knock off sparkle Tom's shoes.  Why, might you ask, would Rite Aid be on my top five things I am thankful for.  Well, note the description word I used to describe both the nail polish and knock off shoes.  SPARKLE!  Rite Aid gives me all the sparkle I want at a cheap and affordable price, not to mention they have pretty make up and girlie things that I like to indulge in.  Yay for glitter and shine!

I know a few of these are pretty interesting things to be thankful for, but it is worth recognizing them. I think God also likes to hear the silly things that makes us happy and gets us excited (like sparkle!!)

You may now live happily ever after

I love weddings.  I don't know what it is about them but they keep me smiling the whole day.  March 3rd was Kendra's(cousin) wedding day; which meant I had an excuse to take off work and head North to see the fam bam!  Although it was an extremely short trip I managed to see two love birds get hitched, attend the reception, and go shopping in between the two.
My day started off with my adorable nephew Noah being placed on my bed to wake me up.  I could not have asked for a better morning surprise!  I took a shower and began to get ready.  After all, weddings are a great place to meet the gentlemen :)
I decided I would curl my hair, put on one of my old tolo dresses, and look all snazzy since I would be the guestbook attendant.  That's right, I had a HUGE role in this wedding :P  Plus, with Kendra, it is go big or go home.  I knew I would not be overdressed, and I was right.
The wedding was beautiful.  Kendra did a great job of hiding the bright red carpet and turning the sanctuary into a wonderful forest-esque meadow. 

Just like every other wedding I have been to, I got teary-eyed.  I tried to do what the groom did and choke back the tears, although this was very difficult after feeling all the love squeezed into the room.  After the ceremony there was a four hour gap until the reception and I took advantage of the spare time.  I got into my granny car and drove to Bellingham to get a little shopping in!  I desperately missed the feel of driving into town whenever I wanted and the four hours I had alone was so peaceful.  I loved being back at home and it made me that much more excited to move back in a mere eight days.  I checked off all the items on my shopping list and headed to the reception hall.
Once at the reception, I found a seat by my cousins and then my Aunt asked if I would be in charge of getting the bridal party drinks through out the evening.  I, of course, said yes.  I did not know this would be an issue at the time, but the bridal party was sitting in an elevated section of the room so I would have to go up four steps to reach them.  I got the orders from the very handsome groomsmen and best man and began to go down the steps.  On about step two I began to feel a shift in gravity and I was being pulled back (typical right?).  I could feel myself losing control of my footing and flailed my arms a bit.  I heard some gasps coming from the bride BUT I caught myself-or I should say my elbow caught myself. 

I kissed goodbye the thought of making a good first impression to the groomsmen and any other cute onlookers.  Sometimes I really do despise my clumsiness, especially when it occurs in front of so many people at a classy event. I assured the guests around me I was alright and I only suffered from minor embarrassment.
Thankfully the night continued without any more spills.  It was filled with laughter, dancing, limbo, great speeches, and delicious food!  Not to mention there was a TON of kissing.  My family started this interesting tradition.  About an hour into the reception, if you want to see the bride and groom kiss you have to pay for it.  $1 will equal one second of kissing.  To start it off, one of my cousins gave $20.  It was pretty evident just by watching them, how excited Kendra and Jake were that they were getting paid to do something so enjoyable.  After the reception my Dad made it clear that at my wedding there would be a significantly less amount of PDA shown.  I doubt he will even let my groom "kiss the bride."  My Dad is so.....conservative.
My favorite part of the evening was the bouquet toss.  I am competitive and I was NOT letting any of the tiny girls get a hold of that bouquet.  There should have been a warning sent out that I will shove and get vicious if needed. 

Well, I caught the bouquet and you all know what that means :D I'm getting hitched next and I need a man!  I will be accepting applications via comments, email, facebook messages or comments.
All in all it was a perfect wedding filled with a blushing bride, a bruised elbow, handsome men, and love.  What more could be wanted?