Dear Rosie,
Thank you for Blizzard runs, impulse trip to Denver, DW car, Bobby, Utah State, the cabin, flat tires, naps, Jackson Hole, dance parties, promposals, protecting me from early morning moose, car washes, star gazing roof, Imagine Dragons, evil twin dates, Tony Grove Lake, photo shoots, being my dance team secretary office, Kashlee adventures, buzzed driving, freezing in the seminary parking lot multiple times, spirit beads, Subie parking lot pride, driving lessons, If We Were a Movie, Idaho, the homie, DD, the lucky fin, Minnie Mouse lanyard, and everything else. Thank you for literally saving my life.
Love, Caitie

we are still working on this

Rosie's theme song

*pretends to be Bruce*

KD+Pike crew

I love twin twin

hanging with the druggies in Rock Springs

buzzed driving is drunk driving

Mama Caitie taking Allie Child to math (again)

thankful for thanksgiving

For the first time in a really long time, and maybe even ever, we stayed home in Jackson Hole for Thanksgiving. Usually we go to Salt Lake City or to Sky Mountain Ranch with my whole big and giant family, but not this year. And that's okay. I just wanted to be home anyways. Also ps I got like all my hair cut off. By a real hairstylist. In a real salon. Not by Ashly and Edwin in our shower. Upgrade.

My Uncle Scott & Aunt Courtney and their two little girls, Charlotte and Lizzie, drove up from Salt Lake City to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us which was so much fun! Team B for life.

Friday was $6 ski day at Teton Village in celebration of the 50th season at JHMR and so the Schmidts drove over the mountains from Rexburg to come ski. Love those people with all my heart and was so excited to see them and will see them again at the cabin for Christmas in a few weeks! But that's a future post...

I have so, so, so much to be grateful for and my heart feels so full and blessed to have and do all that I do. I am so grateful for the gospel and the path that it has directed my life. I am grateful for the knowledge that it has given me of eternal families and that Heavenly Father is aware of each and every one of us and all of our needs. I love the gospel so much. I am so grateful for the experiences that I have had the past semester at Utah State University and for the way that my testimony has grown exponentially from being here. Life is so good and so short, so love it.

Homie is getting baptized soon (date TBA) (pumped)

no shame sunday snaps with twin twin

After church in Jackson Hole, my dad and Max drove me and Edwin back up to Utah State for the last three weeks of fall semester (and finals, ew). It was snowy and cold when we got to Logan but Abbey had transformed our dorm room into "The North Pole" so I guess it's going to be okay down here. Except for the finals part. That's scary.

love this human

Hi Ashly. While you're far away on your cruise in Turks and Caicos or whatever, we will be here in Logan. Freezing. And sleeping in your bed. Come home soon and bring us presents. K, thanks, love you, bye.
Helga & Betty

"To live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch Heaven," 

-President Thomas S. Monson

Be grateful. Even when it's not Thanksgiving.

Love, Caitie

tumble

Honestly, this post makes me a little sick to my stomach to write about. And I've been putting it off for a really long time because it still freaks me out. Technically, the accident happened about a month ago (today is 12/23), but it's taken me this long to man up and post about it. On my way home to Jackson Hole for Thanksgiving Break, I was in a really bad accident where my car slid across the road and rolled down a cliff and into a frozen river in Tincup Canyon (right outside of Star Valley). It was the SCARIEST thing that has ever happened to me. And I actually thought that I was going to die there in that river. The whole way home, the roads had been clear and dry and it wasn’t until the top of Tin Cup Canyon that the roads were wet from the melting ice. But then as I got closer to coming out of the canyon, the roads became snowy and icy. So wet tires+icy roads= driving really slow. As I was coming down around a corner and started to slide towards the cement barriers against the mountain. As I turned to correct, all my tires caught on the ice and I started to spin into a 360. But while I was spinning, my car was also moving towards the edge of the cliff. I rolled three times (I think) down a cliff and broke through a sheet of ice covering the rushing river. After I stopped rolling, my car had landed on it’s side with the driver’s side down and quickly began to fill with water and chunks of ice because the windows were all shattered from me hitting my head on them and then all the branches that scratched at them. I was terrified. Terrified. Obviously, I couldn’t get out through the driver’s side, so I reached over to see if I could open my driver’s side door but something pinched in my back and I couldn’t get out that way. I looked behind me thinking that I could somehow crawl/swim through whatever was left of my back window but there was luggage and glass and ice chunks floating all over and there was no way. So I decided that climbing out of my roof was going to have to work. I pushed the button to open my roof and it only opened about a foot before the ice and water jammed it from moving back any farther. This is where I started crying. Like for reals crying because I was all alone and so scared that I was actually not going to be able to get out of my car before it filled with water. And so I said a prayer, grabbed my phone, and climbed out my roof. Here’s the thing though, I have no doubt in my mind that angels were there because I seriously have no idea how I got out of there. Heavenly Father is SO aware of us and our needs all of the time and that is the biggest blessing in the whole wide world. Once I got out of my roof, I jumped into the river (through a layer of ice) and couldn’t touch the ground because it was so deep. So I started to swim back up to the cliff, climbed up, and started running towards Star Valley because I didn’t have any cell service. I wasn’t wearing shoes either and so I was running down the road soaking wet for about five minutes before this random car came around the corner. They pulled over for me and drove me to the LDS church building in Star Valley where I sat by the heater trying to stay warm until my dad came to get me. Once my dad came, we drove back up the canyon to where my car was and met the police, S&R, and tow truck there. S&R had pulled out as much out of my car that they could, but most of it sank or floated down the river (aka my scriptures, journal, chargers, shoes, puffy down coats, etc.). All that survived was my backpack that had my laptop (full of water and broken), camera (frozen), camera lenses (shattered), and some textbooks in it and then one of the bags that I had packed for home that just had socks and t-shirts in it. And like yeah it sucks that my scriptures are gone and all that but really, it’s just stuff and so much worse could have happened to me and I feel so grateful to have gotten out of there the way that I did. When I got home, Dr. Adam came over and did concussion testing (I had a concussion) and then my ribs were bruised up pretty bad and I had lots of cuts and scrapes from climbing out of my roof. I had to wait ten days until after my accident to get an MRI because my spine was so swollen but Adam thinks I either have a herniated disk and/or small fractures in my spine that I will get checked when I go back home after finals. Obviously my car is totaled because of all the water damage and glass that happened but it’s okay because it could have been worse. I have no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father was watching over me though and that He sent angels to help me get out of there. And yeah it sucks that I lost my journal and my scriptures and shoes and broke my camera and Rosie's gone now and my body hurts but in the end, it's all just stuff and I am so, so, so lucky.

Please wear your seatbelt.

Please say your prayers.

Please drive safe.

Please be careful.

Love,

Caitie

KD White Rose Formal

Tonight was Kappa Delta's Fall Formal at the Logan Country club. It was like Jackson Hole High School's Winter Ball, but on steroids (I think that that is how a lot of my college experiences have been so far; like high school, but on steroids, which is awesome).

Reason #24378 why Ashly is a bomb roomie is because she did my hair and makeup for me AND brought her formal dresses up from Pleasant Grove that she had worn in high school for me so I didn't have to search through the mall to find one. Bless. I owe her cookies.

Edwin, Caitie, Jaxon, Jackie (aka the cool kids)

happy happy happy

"pretend to be swag"

I love my Big and Twin with my whole heart

Big, Little, and Twin we will always be

CD+JD+KD forever

After Formal, I went back to my dorm and put pajamas on as soon as I could then finished packing because I'M GOING HOME TOMORROW!! No shame. And I'm so excited to see my family and snow and JH, eeep.

Never miss the opportunity to have a dance party.

Love, Caitie the KD

blood drive+hair cut+pike party+girl scouts

There was another blood drive at USU on Tuesday so I once again convinced Edwin to donate with me, promising him yet another Costa Vida meal. And I even got Ashly to donate too. That's a big deal. I am a great person.

We also decided that I needed a hair cut so my personal stylists hit that up. Dear Mama Laura, don't worry they just thinned it and I do still have hair. Just less of it.

After Ashly and I's adventure up to Tony Grove Lake, we went to the Pike party (a frat on campus at Utah State) for Friday the Thirteenth and to celebrate the conclusion of their philanthropy week.

look at the cute matching girls

Saturday was International Girl's Day (a holiday created by National Kappa Delta that celebrates girls) and so Kappa Delta Beta Delta helped a local Girl Scout with an event that she planned in order to earn her Gold Award. I don't really know any thing about Girl Scouts (yet) but I'm pretty sure that the Gold Award is the highest you can get.

I love the videos and commercials that have recently been released about girl power because I think that there is so much pressure on girls to be "perfect" in the eyes of the world today when really, it doesn't even matter what the world thinks of you because no matter what you are amazing and can do and be whatever you want. This video was released by National Kappa Delta about International Girl's Day and then there's this video by Barbie and the #likeagirl video that does a killer job at explaining how awesome girls are. Because they are.

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

Love, Caitie

Seek Out the Snowflakes

Logan's November is like Wyoming's May. It's the weirdest thing and it's kinda throwing me off. So on Friday Ashly and I decided to go find the snow up Logan Canyon.

I bet you've never seen this photo before

We just kept driving and driving until we got to Tony Grove Lake. Once the road became covered in snow, I knew we were on the right track. It was freezing at the lake but so pretty because the sun sparkled off of the ice and snow- one of my favorite things is sparkling snow.

When we were there, this couple was taking their engagemnet photos and it was the most adorable thing ever (they looked so cold) #lifegoals

of course the adventure flag came too

Seek out the snowflakes.

Love, Caitie

White Rose Weekend & Kappa Delta Initiation

Let's just start off with saying that now that I am officially an initiated member of Kappa Delta sorority, my new name is Caitie the KD (shoutout to Jackie Dean for that one). It's adorable, I know.
*side note: some of the things that happen at White Rose weekend are really special to Kappa Delta so you won't hear about them on here.

Friday afternoon, we went through what is called "Second Degree" in Kappa Delta which happens once you pass the Kappa Delta new member exam (which I did with a 95%, woo go Caitie). After Second Degree, we all went back to the Kappa Delta house and did a really cool sisterhood activity then each went back to our dorm rooms to sleep before the next 48 hours; which would be jam-packed with Kappa Delta awesomeness.

One of the traditions of White Rose weekend is that each Little crafts a pillow for their Big and then their Big crafts them a plaque that's super cute. On Saturday, Caroline, Jackie, and I ran to Walmart before going over to the Kappa Delta house to pick up stuff for our pillows. Saturday night we had some speakers come over to the house to talk to us about personal presence and job interviews. The Kappa Delta alumni woman who came to talk to us about personal presence said something that has really stuck with me. She said, "the way that you think about yourself reflects in your face and transfers to those around you,". And I think that that is SO TRUE. Walking down the sidewalks on campus, you can definitely tell by the way that people carry themselves, what they think about themselves. It makes me sad to think that there are so many people out there who spend their whole lives being sad and hard on themselves when everyone is important and smart and kind and amazing and all of those things! So pick your chins up people because you are awesome and if you ever need a boost, I would highly suggest some Kid President to keep you going. Just saying, he's awesome.

Anyways, after our speakers left we had more sisterhood activities that ultimately resulted in an all-nighter and me going back to my dorm at 5am to get my white dress and shoes then turning right back around for initiation at Kappa Delta. I love college.

kappa delta beta delta fall 2015 

this is jackie dean. she's my best friend.
pc15 rush week buddies for life. 

Big Candace + Twin Caroline & Caitie

 After initiation and a million-bazillion photos, we went downstairs to give our Big's our pillows and so the Little's could get the plaques. Because Caroline and I are twins, we decided to make twinner pillows for Big. Caroline's pillow (left) says "Kappa" and mine (right) says "Delta Big". They are super soft and adorable and shoutout to Caroline for teaching me how to do the pillow tie thing because apparently I missed that craft day at Girl's Camp. Also, I am in love with the plaque that Big made me because it is covered in some of my favorite things- the American flag, sunflowers, and Kappa Delta. PS: the difference between Caroline's plaque and mine perfectly describes us :)

White Rose Weekend 2015 was absolutely amazing and I am so excited that I am now officially a member of Kappa Delta sorority. I am excited for all of the lifelong friendships and opportunities that I will gain from Kappa Delta.
Ta kala diokomen.
Love, Caitie the KD