The Many Adventures of RatalieNose

Yeah I know...I'm becoming a "once-a-month-poster,"

but it's the best I can do right now!

Okay so time to talk about the latest adventures in the life of RatalieNose.

Over October break I was lucky enough to get to go to Rocky Point Mexico with my pal Aubri! She turned 16 while we were there and it was so fun! We and another family stayed in an RV park RIGHT on the beach! It was my first time traveling in a trailer and DUDE I have been missing out! Getting to sleep on a BED while driving for hours??? YES.PLEASE.

Yes Prince Phillip is code for someone. But I'm not telling! *grins evilly*

Trust me, you don't want to know!

For Aubs birthday we rented quads. It was my first time and I LOVED it! Even though Papa Dub told me that I drive like an old granny. *sad face*

You know what's so great about the beach?? Even when you look"special" in a picture, the fact that you're on the beach makes it cute! YESHHH!

Me and Kennyl

So I got really excited.....

And ran to play in the puddles....

I LOVE Aubs!!!!! (Oh and I loathe Tank the dog.)

As for Adventure #2.....

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were driving home from babysitting for my sisters boss. We came to an intersection and my friend tried to stop but her brakes went out so we went through the intersection and were t-boned. Thankfully we were both safe! I just suffered some whiplash and have had pain in my neck, and my friend was burned by the air bag and is sore, but other than that we were fine! And the other car's passengers were totally fine!

This experience, while terrifying, really strengthened my testimony of the love Heavenly Father has for me. The day of the accident, something amazing happened. My friend Dolly has a step-dad whose not a member of our church but that day he randomly asked her if she'd like to have family prayer and she of course said yes. Step-dad said the prayer and in it he prayed that all of his step-daughters friends would be safe that night and if something were to happen that they'd walk away okay. A few hours later, I was in the accident.

Monday I was in pretty bad pain and in major need of a priesthood blessing. My two guy friends who go to ASU left school and came to help me out. The blessing didn't take away my pain but it completely changed my outlook about it. I felt at peace.

I am so thankful for a loving, listening God who never leaves me and answers prayers.

Remember When I Used to Post on This Blog???

Forgive me friends for I have sinned.

It is October 3rd. My last post was August 27th.

*sigh*

But it's never too late to start over right?

So here I am being penetant.

Life is a funny thing, is it not?

It comes so fast, but goes by so slow...

At least that's how it feels in high school.

Things haven't changed too much since I last posted.

I'm still keepin' busy, lovin' life for the most part.

But Snoopy fell through, so that's kind of sad.

The school I was doing with is have a hard time with money so they cancelled it.

But no worries, that just means a little less stress for me!! So Homecoming came SUPER early this year. For the last month or so everyone in Stuco has been working like mad-people to pull it off and it didn't turn out too shabby! I was in charge of the Half-Time show which was super stressful but also way fun! Our Homecoming theme was The Happiest Place on Earth so I decided to incorporate the theme into Half-Time so instead of the announcer just announcing all the stuff....it was a FAIRY TALE!!! Complete with "Once Upon a Time." LOVED IT.

Alright, I'll admit. I DID NOT want to go to Homecoming this year. Dances aren't really my thing and I didn't think there was anyone I could tolerate for an entire night of torture....but since when does anyone listen to me??? Well I'm glad they didn't because my good ol' childhood buddy AJ ended up asking me and we had a great time!
One night I'm lying in bed asleep and my mom comes in and is like "Natalie something's here for you!" So I go out there and its a cereal box full of hershey kisses and a DVD that says play me. So I put it in and the Disneyland castle shows up. Then it says "Natalie now that I've showered you with kisses..." And a picture of Prince Phillip riding his steed fighting shows up but AJ's face is covering Phillips! "Will you go to Homecoming with me?" It was SO CUTE. So then a couple days later I get my three darling neices and take them to his house to be the three good fairies and tell AJ that Sleeping Beauty is awake and that she'll go to Homecoming with him.

For our day activity we played 007 the weekend before the dance. (It's where everyone gets dropped off at point a and has to make it to point b without getting spotlighted by the car.) And we had a great time! Wandering around Lehi, having our first real conversation since Jr. High. It was awesome!

The day of the dance we went and took pictures then had dinner at this clubhouse the boys rented out.

The dance was surprisingly bearable. But I give that credit to our Homecoming King Dillon. He's this amazingly sweet wonderful kid with cerebal palsy. He's also the most spirited, supportive kid at Westwood and I am SO GLAD he won! It really brought the student body together and proved that we do have a heart!

This is off topic, but General Conference this weekend was phenomanal. We are so blessed to have prophets and apostles on the earth to give us revelation from God. I feel so full!

Have a fabulous week!

Cowboy Take Me Away

So this years girls camp theme was Cowgirl Up.

So each cabin needed to come up with a ranch name and a brand to represent them.

So the YCL2'S (Youth Camp Leaders-17 year olds) decided to be the

Ditsy Chicks-Cowboy Take Me Away

Pictured below is our main cabin decorations:

Just some cowboys from our hood. Here are 6 of the 8 YCL2's on our way into Lomia.

We are so blessed to have this beautiful camp to stay at every year.

I love everything about this place!

It's so gorgeous and you just feel good as you walk around it.

Definately one of my happy places!

So like I said, my camera broke on the first day of camp so I just have a few pics from that day.

Me and Jess were just a little excited!!!
I was so blessed to get to work with one of my BFF's for my camp calling this year.
Jess and I were responsible for planning all the firesides at camp!
(A fireside is a basically a meeting at night where we all gather and have a good time.)
It was a huge job, but Jess and I make a great team and things went really really well!

The first night there's generally an onstage game show. So since this year was all about courage we decided to do Couples Fear Factor. Each of the YCL2's picked a character and teamed up to do 3 stunts. We had:
Barbie and Jessie
John Wayne and Calamity Jane
Sammy and Niesha (The young women always win!)
And....
Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift
Me and Jess LOVED being those two!!!


The first stunt was one that we filmed in Mesa before we left. One partner jumped off the high dive holding a bucket and swam over to the other partner who then had to save 5 birds from the bottom the pool. Whoever did it the fastest won the stunt. And the slowest couple was eliminated.

The second stunt was the infamous food stunt.

The remaining contestants each had to eat a quail egg.

For the third stunt, one partner was suspended in the air (sitting in a hammock hanging from the rafters) and shooting a marshmallow gun into a bucket held by the other partner. The team that had the most mallows in in 45 seconds won.

Oh and also for the first night...a special treat for the estrogen charged girls....a boy video featuring all the hotties from our hood. Giving them advice, telling what they want in their dream cowgirls, and of course...dancing. I think I may have gone a little deaf as they watched it.

The second night was skit night. Every ward performs a 3-4 minute skit that has something to do with their ranch and the camp theme.

But we decided to spice up the night a bit so we did the CMT Awards.

(Camp's Magnificent Talents)

They were hosted by the Taylors, who in turn introduced lots of famous guest stars who presented each ward with a belt buckle for their skit.

Some presenters:

Brad Paisley

Garth Brooks

Carrie Underwood

Miranda Lambert

Lady Antebellum

Rascal Flatts

It was such fun night!

Then for our final night, it was Bishops night. All the Bishops come up to spend time with their girls. So we had a Bishops Rodeo. First we showed a video featuring all the bishops telling us about their secret strengths, why they were going to win. Then they competed in 4 events. Roping their wives, oily pig relay (vaseline watermelon), pin the flower on the pony, and a hokey pokey dance-off.

Then each word performed a song for their bishop written especially for him.

It was a great night!

But it's not just the fun stuff that makes camp so great! Every night after the fun part of the fireside we do something spiritual. The first night we went on a scavenger hunt to find a Cowgirls' Happily Ever After. It was based off of President Ucthdorf's talk from the YW conference and was so great!

Night two- we started the night by singing a song about standing as a witness of Christ.

"Like Esther in her courage, like Joseph in his faith, like Ruth in her devotion, like Nephi in his strength. I will stand for truth and righteousness reflecting heaven's light. And my life will be like a beacon in the night. For I will stand as a witness of Christ."

Then we walked out into the woods where we sat and each of the people from the song came and spoke to us. Telling their stories and admonishing us to stand as a witness of Christ. The last person to speak to us was Nephi who was being portrayed by our stake president, my dad. After he told his story he asked us to make a commitment to stand for truth and righteousness. Anyone who was willing to make the commitment was asked to sign two picture frames which I'm told are going to have a picture of Christ in them and will hang in our Young Womens room.

For the last night we were taken through the life of Christ through beautiful artwork. One at a time a member of the priesthood would come out with a picture of an event from Christ's life and talk about it. The spirit was so strong.

In addition to the firesides, during the day we go to classes and workshops. Their was one workshop that touched me especially. It was called When Life Gives You Lemons and it was all about trials and how to deal with them and why we have them etc. It was just what I needed. So so great.

Yes, my fiancee Taylor Lautner was our cabin's brand. We put a hat on him and took him to flag every morning.

In addition to firesides, I got to teach certification for the second year girls. One of the things they needed to learn to pass onto the next level was fires, so we made EDIBLE CAMPFIRES!!!

Very fun and very yummy!!!

All in all, camp this year was beyond amazing. I'm so blessed to be a Young Woman and have experiences like this!! I can't wait till next year, but sadly it'll be my last one!

Getting older is sometimes not fun!

11 DAYS TILL MY SENIOR YEAR!!!!!

I'm Grateful

Well this week has been...uh....one of a kind.

I guess you could say I've got a lot on my mind.

But its when things are hardest that you remember what's most important.

My family-no matter what happens, they are always there for me. Trying to help in whatever way they can.

My friends- sit and listen to me whine for hours on end...and they still want to hang out with me. These are the girls that I laugh with, I cry with and drool over boys with.

The scriptures- when you have no idea what you're doing- they're the road map that will lead you through your life.

Priesthood blessings- I'm BEYOND blessed to have a father whose a worthy priesthood holder who is willing to give me a blessing whenever I need it. Direct inspiration from the Lord is such a comfort when you don't know what the heck you're doing!

The power of fasting- Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when He gave us this precious gift. A small sacrifice on your part can lead to more blessings than you could ever imagine.

The power of prayer- even when you're at your worst, feeling alone, you're not. Your Father in Heaven is always right there, just waiting for you to come to Him. And prayer is the way you do that. I can't even count the number of times I've muttered a prayer and immediately felt a difference.

I'm grateful for trials.

We given them for a reason.

They are how we grow, progress, and realize what's really important.

High School Horrors Part 10

So I know it's summer, but there are some Horrors that I feel are recap worthy.

So here we go:

As we all know, friends are debatably the most important part of a high schooler's existence, so when something happens that jeapordizes them, it becomes your very own living nightmare.

The Three Scariest Experiences of Ratalie's Junior Year

3. My BFF Suz was feeling awful during choir. So we were outside and I was doing my best to help her out. I turned away for one second and the next thing I know, her eyes are rolling back in her head and she's falling backwards and I hear her head hit the pavement with a thud. Terr.I.Fy.Ing.

2. This one got it's one post. The Rusty/Peanut Butter Episode. Go here to read all about it.

1. The number one most terrifying experience of this year...one night I was sitting at home and someone burst through our door. It was Edell, my friend Jake's mom. She was borderlining hysterical as she said "Jake's been in a motorcycle accident, can we leave our car here so Glen and I can drive together?" And with that she was gone. We had no idea how serious it was or what exactly happened. All night I was wreck. I even texted Jake thinking that if he was concious he'd have his phone on him: "Jake are you okay???" Not recieving an answer made it even worse. Finally, around 11 pm Edell came back to pick up the car. Becuase Jake had been wearing his helmet he had made it without any serious injuries and had walked out of the hospital. I don't think I'd ever been that relieved in my entire life. I booked it outside to jump on Jake and see with my own two eyes that he was okay. To this day, I am a HUGE advocate for wearing helmets on motorcycles, it saved my best friends life!

I'm so thankful that in all three of these scenarios, my friends were okay. I know without a doubt that all three of them were being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father. And that, with him on my side, I need never fear.

Tis the Season and All That Jazz

Yes friends, it is that time again.

I figured since it is the season of giving, no better time to toss out some

Comment Candy.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go HERE.

While I'm on the subject of Christmas,

I thought I'd toss out a thought I had the other day.

It's about the

Two S's

Substituite and Supplement

Substituite- Replacement

Supplement- Additive

We know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our brother Jesus Christ.

As the years come and go, more and more emphasis is put on the commercial side of Christmas.

Presents, trees, lights and the whole nine yards are GREAT,

AS A SUPPLEMENT,

NOT a SUBSTITUITE.

This year as you shop for, give and recieve presents, make sure the things you're doing are adding to your celebration of Christ's birth, not replacing it.

Alright friends, you know what to do.

Comment Comment Comment

and you just might recieve a little Christmas Present from the Ratalie.

Fa-La-La-La-La-La

Alyssa Oliphant

Burdens

I have a testimony of what this picturing is portraying:

The infinite and supernal love that my brother Jesus Christ has for all of us.

It makes me think of this song:

Who can know the burden, you're carrying inside?

Who can know the heartache, the heartbreak, the times you've cried?

Where is heavens answer, when it seems her gates her closed?

When your heart is broken, who knows?

So many ways are calling, promising, pleading.

And still their is an emptiness, an aching a needing.

He'll help you with your burden and give you peace inside.

He'll take away the heartache, the heartbreak, the times you've cried.

He is heavens answer, when it seems her gates are closed.

When your heart is broken he knows.

He waits with open arms, come and stay.

We're given trials so that we may grow and become stronger.

But we're never alone through our suffering.

Our Savior is there, and he knows what we're going through, because he already has.

He knows pain and heartache like nobody else does.

But he also knows joy and happiness, the likes of which we can't even imagine.

When you're struggling or hurting or feeling alone, go to Him.

Things will always work out when we put our trust in Him.

Have a beautiful week!

*Edited to add*

My amazing sister Rebekah wrote the beautiful song above for a friend of hers.

Her talents never cease to amaze me.

Seven in Six

In six months, I RatalieNose, have been on seven dates.

Let's review shall we?

1. My first date ever. Coyotes game and Applebee's with Rusty and my family. Want full details?

Go HERE.

Girl ask guy.

2. Date number two was with Tyler. We did a progressive dinner and played games at each house.

Details HERE.

Girl ask guy.

3. Dates number three and four never got posts so I'll sum them up here. Three was during the summer. During this time, the two girls I was hanging out with the most had boyfriends. (Holler at your fifth wheeeeel!) Anywho, the boyfriends had never been to Olive Garden so my friends wanted to take them. Well, my friend had a foreign exchange student at the time and she wanted him to go. So I took him. Now let me make this clear, he was an awesome kid and I really liked him, but we'd never talked before the date. And he didn't really talk to me on the date....awesome....

Girl ask guy.

4. Okay date number four had been LONG anticipated. It was with my dear friend Charming. (He's the one who calls me Pige. Read about that HERE.)

We'd started talking over Winter break and had been planning to hang out forever. But it didn't happen until summer. It was the first date I'd been asked on. We went to the park and had a picnic and played games. There was a little awkwardness since I didn't know his friends (Charming goes to Mt. View) but it was still super fun! The best part was when we sat on the swings for like an hour just talking. Seriously, we talked about EVERYTHING! Oh how I miss Charming!

Guy ask girl.

5. The fifth date was also with Tyler. This time we had the dinner race then played games and swam. For the full story, go HERE.

Girl ask guy.

6. Date number six was Mary's first date. We went blind goofy golfing, boys blindfolded for a hole, then girls, and the other person has to direct you and basically golf for you. Then we played laser tag and ate lunch at Wendys. So so fun!!!!!

Guy ask girl.

7. Last but not least, date number seven was yesterday. We went and did baptisms at the temple then ate paninis and ice cream at Mary's house. Wow, it was seriously amazing. I'd been sick all week and all day yesterday I was at grandpa's funeral so going to the temple was EXACTLY what I needed. I've been before but it was a new experience going with boys and I really liked it. I felt the spirit so strongly and it was so cool to know that my friends were feeling the same thing! Two weels ago I was feeling emotionally sick and this past week I was physically sick but after being at the temple yesterday,

I feel whole.

So there you have it, seven dates in six months!

P.S.

I bought my dress for Homecoming today!