Lake Powell

L.P. Paradise

I went to Lake Powell for a summer vacation from August 18th through August 23rd. Jenny invited me to go along with her family and some friends. It was such a blast! We did so many fun activities like: wake boarding/surfing, tubing, hiking, jet skiing, swimming (of course. C’est un lac!) bracelet making, movie watching, henna tattooing, talking, playing, friend making, star gazing, book reading, bat viewing, bonfire partying with banana boats, eating, game playing, water dance partying, sunscreen applying, etc. That’s pretty much the gist. Thanks Jenny and Hanson Family for a wonderful time! I had a fantastic birthday down there. I miss the water and sun already!

The Lake Powell swimmers- Jessica, Matt, Me, Rebecca, Jenny, Cristy, and Jeff. (I cant get it to go sideways!)

Rebecca's sweet henna tat. Creative huh?



Jenny and Rebecca jumping after our hike. Best shot in my opinion girls.

Jenny and I on our hike. We were sweaty so we interlocked arms instead of hugged. Look at that beautiful desert landscape!

Rebecca, Jenny, and I making hemp bracelets and rockin' out to The Format.



Jenny and Rebecca trying to lick the banana boat. Careful ladies! We have to eat that later!

Bonfire buddies Rebecca, Jenny, and I.

(Check out those chaco tan lines!)

Jenny sitting on Rebecca. She fought back with those sharp tongs!

We three burnty-tan.

Happy 19th Birthday Allen! Jenny made better-than-"anything"-cake. Delicious! Thanks for all your efforts into making that darn cake Jen and Rebecca. It was worth it.

MISSION CALL!

As you are aware from my previous post, I turned in my missionary papers a few weeks ago to the Stake President. It had only be 8 days since I turned them when a large envelope arrived in the mail on Friday June 5! My mom called me at work to tell me it had arrived. "Hey Elder Warner!" I was in shock. I was thinking it was going to come next week since the President had said it was take about 10-14 days. But no, the Brethern were speedy! And I'm not complaining! So we invited family and friends to come to an opening-of-the-mission-call party. Everyone made guesses as to where I was going. It started to freak me out! All those exotic guesses were worrying me. I was questioning myself and whether I could leave home for 2 years and if I'd even be a good missionary. In my hands was my destiny for the next 2 years! Pretty intense information. Very classified. My hands definitely started to shake.
So with a few friends and family members around me, I opened my call. It read..

"Dear Elder Warner:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Baltic Mission...You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Lithuanian language..."

Can you believe it?? I can't! I'm so excited, thrilled, anxious, and nervous. My mission consists of 3 countries: Lithuania, Latvia, & Estonia. Awesome huh? I can't wait to get out there and serve the people of the Baltics! And I can't wait to learn Lithuanian. It's going to be so cool! What a challenge it will be but how cool is that? Lithuanian! So yeah. Exciting times! I'm now trying to get all other preparations done like getting my passport renewed, getting more shots, getting my eyes checked, etc. A long process but totally worth it. I know the Lord will be with me in my preparations and he will bless me. I love this gospel! I love my Savior. He has blessed and purified my life so that I can teach His children about His ministry and restored gospel. Thank you everyone for all your support and prayers!

Me reading my call to everyone.."Baltic Mission!"

President Thomas S. Monson's personal signature! That's a little intimidating. But I love him!

My Mission area...Lithuania, Lativa, & Estonia. The nearest temple is in Sweden!

Allie's Baptism

Allie the Pure

Alexandria Warner, my cute little sister, was baptized on June 6, 2009! She is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm so proud of Allie and her decision to be baptized. She is such a beautiful, rambunctious, hilarious, sweet girl and I don't know what my life would be like without her. I love you Allie. Your tender spirit teaches me every day and I thank you for your example. You uplift us with your cute gestures, insightful thoughts, and too-funny commentaries.

Congratulations Allie! I'm so proud of you!

Allie & Dad before the baptism. White as snow!

Miss Allie in her beautiful hand-picked baptism dress. She's so adorable.

Chocolate Truffles

I've been wanting to make chocolates truffles for a long time now and finally on Wednesday night I decided just to do it! I ran to the store and picked up some semi-sweet and milk chocolate and began the 2 hour process. They turned out delicious! Not the greatest but still pretty tasty and rich. They were more on the dark side; the best side. When it comes to chocolate of course!

Dark Chocolate Truffles. Oh la la.

Memorial Day 5k & Mission Papers

Smile Center Memorial Day 10k & 5K

Over the rainy Memorial Weekend I did a few cool things. One was that I ran a 5k! It was the first sponsored 5k I've ever ran and it was awesome. The run was called the Smile Center Memorial Day 10k & 5k. All the proceeds from the event went towards the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial. It was a way to honor fallen officers from Utah. It started at the Orem City Center Park and went around a few blocks to make up 3.1 miles and 6.2 miles for the 10k. I was racer number 1085! I came in 36th place out of 158. And I ran it in 25 mins! Not too shabby eh? I had a blast running it. It was so great to run for a good cause and to enjoy my body's physical capabilites, not to mention the added bonus of endorphins! I can run!

Mission Papers Are Turned In!

The second cool thing was that I turned in my Mission papers! I had my final interview with the Stake President and now it's official. I should be getting my call in the next 10-14 days. Any guesses as to where I'm going? I'd love to hear them. Check back for my call announcement post.

Winter Masquerade/Ordination

Winter Masquerade Ball

On January 30, 2009, I attended a Winter Masquerade Charity Ball! It was a lot of fun.

My friend Caitlyn and I went and enjoyed every minute of it. The ball was held at the Provo Courthouse by Community Action Services and Food Bank to raise money for programs in their non-profit organizations. So tickets were about $15 but totally worth it. We got to dress up and wear masks and party! It was a night of mystery and splendor. It was a great event because it was fun plus by going we were helping the community!

I'm an Elder!

Last sunday, February 8, 2009, I was given the Melchezidek Priesthood! I invited my family to join me at our church building for this special occasion. We gathered in second largest meeting room, besides the R.S. room and Primary, since so many of my extended family came. They are so great to support me! I had the awesome opportunity of my dad giving me the Melchezidek Priesthood. He's a great example to me of what a worthy Priesthood holder should be and I'm so grateful for him. My dad, along with all the other men in the room who hold the Melchezidek Priesthood, gathered around me and placed their hands on my head and my dad blessed me with the Melchezidek Priesthood and ordained me to the office of Elder. It was truly amazing. This experience was one of the best of my life. The spirit overwhelmed me, not to mention the room, and confirmed to me that I was now a holder of Jesus Christ's priesthood. It's a testament to me that we are not alone in these hard days. That Christ's priesthood power is still on the earth and is blessing the lives who come in contact with it. I feel so empowered!
Thank-you's:

-I want to thank my extended family for always supporting me and being with me on this special day. (Grandma and Granpa Warner, Nana & Papa, Little's, Gibson's, Parkin's, and Tawnya. Thank you all for coming!)

-My parents are so amazing. They care about me so much and want the best for me. Their examples are what have led me to what kind of person I am today. Their testimonies of the gospel are immovable and I love that about them. Thank you for being so upstanding and amazing.

-My siblings are great. Although we occassionally fight, they are concerned about me and love me. I love you guys!

(Mom and I)

(Ashley and I)

(Dad and I)

New Year, New Semester

Happy 2009!
It's a new year! It gives you a chance, mostly mentally, to start anew. To commit to being better and setting goals. I'm contemplating my goals for 2009 so for now I won't post them.
A new year indicates to me, a student, that school will resume. Well, it already has, for me at least. Bummer. All that pressure! I attend Utah Valley University and I'm a freshman. I attended last semester so I'm not a fresh-freshman; I actually know my way around now! But I'm excited because my courses this semester should be interesting and enjoyable. I'm taking Photography 1, Mission prep, Health, 2-D Design, and theatre make-up. I'm pretty stoked. Especially for photography, since that is my major at the moment.
I will also continue to work part-time at Riverwoods Surgery Center. I'm an inventory assistant. So it's going to be a full semester. Just the way I like it!
Well, have a good year! Set some goals!

First Timer

Hello All,
I decided to conform and get a blog. Here I will enclose my thoughts and happenings of life. (If I ever update that is...) But yeah. All I have so far is an amazing playlist of music. So enjoy!