Last vaca... COZUMEL, MEXICOOO!

Well for my last vacation, my family went on down to Cozumel, Mexico! We decided to make a change, instead of going skiing and somewhere cold, we went to where there was warmth. It was a wonderful place to be for my last outage with the fam! We hung out and basked like lizards in the sun, went scuba diving, went on a mayan adventure that consisted of zip lining over the forest, rappelled, swam in an underwater river, and toured the ruins of the Mayan city Tulum. 

Basking... like the lizard below. Except we don't change our colors to our surroundings... just turn red from the sun. Which is why I'm under an umbrella... I was BURNED. 

They had FANTASTIC food... the Mexican was decent.... I lied, their Mexican was GREAT... but that's expected right? Mexico makes good Mexican food...? Hmmm

Our EXTREME Mayan adventure. It was gnarly.

Notice the jungle in the background. Very dense. 

Comin in hot!

Yeah, I'm lookin into the special forces for black ops and such. I'm a pro, don't let my socks and boat shoes fool you. 

Extreme once again. That water was like 70 degrees... 

Tulum! This is all Lamanite country, it's really cool to walk around the ancient city and to try and visualize what it was like back then. 

Awhhh pretty!

Tryin to make the front page of the OSU webpage. O-H-I-O

Just to top it all off, nothing like a good pose. Just take it all in!

Ready to Go

I drove all the way to St. Louis Saturday and Sunday with my dad. 22 hours of driving over 2 days. The United States isn't a very scenic country to drive over. Especially over Kansas. Eventually we returned back home Sunday night. It feels good to be back. My parents have been watching this Glee-like show called "The Sing-Off" and they've been recording it for me. So, after not watching tv since Thanksgiving, I sat down and watched like 4 episodes. It is actually really good! It's a show of these top acapella groups in the US. It's really cool, and I would recommend it.

That brings us to today, Monday. My mom and I went out to do my missionary shopping. We were very successful actually. We were able to get just about everything I need in only 1 day. I picked up some shoes, some suits, etc... I've been spending my evening taking tags off of everything, thinkin about being a missionary, and hanging out with my parents and Tanner (got in today)--all while watching the season finale of The Sing-Off. Needless to say, I'm very excited to get out and just wear all these new clothes! I wonder how fast they'll wear out...

On Wednesday, we fly off to Cozumel for a week and we get back the 29th. After that, only about a week and a half and then I'm off to the MTC. Time is just flying by. Before I know it, I'll be all dark and tan and in the MTC and then, not soon after I enter the MTC, I'll be out in California. Just counting down the days.

Finals and 4 Days.

Well... it is now finals week. It's going alright so far, at least I don't have to go to classes! So far I've taken 3 exams and I've done well... let's just say I'm ready to leave on my mission and I wasn't thinking about school too much. I did rock my Book of Mormon test though, so that made my day. But tomorrow I'm going up to the Canyons to go snowboarding with my friend Scott across the hall because I have a free mid-week day pass. I want to use it up before it gets too late! I'm really going to miss snowboarding. :(
Then I'm taking my last two exams on thursday and then I leave to drive home on saturday. It's going to be sad leaving everyone, but I'm really excited to get out at the same time. I'm just so ready to get out in the mission field! I've enjoyed hanging out with the bestest roommate anyone could have, Logan! And I guess I had fun with Scott and Tanner across the hall... haha just kidding! But I'm really going to miss everyone. I imagine that when I get back, I'll run into a few people and it'll be one of those awkward, "is that... Brennan Edwards?" accompanied with a nice long, awkward stare. Can't wait!

It's going to be the hardest 2 years of my life... but I know that every second will be worth it. I'm excited to give everything that I am to the Lord and to furthering His work. I really can't say enough as to how excited I am. Are people generally excited looking forward to the hardest times of their lives? I'm not sure... but I sure am. I'm so grateful to be apart of this church and this gospel. I'm even more grateful that I'm worthy to represent the Lord and to serve a mission. Less than a month and I'll be off... crazy how time flies.

Temple Square

I had the opportunity to go to temple square today for a ward activity and I was able to see the beautiful lights they had up. I was also able to go inside the temple and do a session before our ward showed up. It was really a great experience. I love temples, and the Salt Lake temple is beautiful. Today was a really good day! Here are some pictures of my adventure! 

Inside the tabernacle

TREE!!!!!!

LIGHTS!!!!!

TEMPLE, TREES, AND LIGHTS!!!!!

I'm for sure going to go back before I leave. SO beautiful!!!!

FINALLY!

I have just finished my last day of class for 2 years!!! It's unreal to think that... but I'm really excited to get into the mission field! I only have a month from this sunday... a MONTH!!! Man, time really does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was entering high school, moving to Belgium, and graduating. Life goes by way too fast. We have to keep up with it's fast pace or we can get burned. It's tough to keep up with, especially in college with classes, homework, and tests. Next week is going to be really rough... finals week. I have to take 5 final exams, not excited about that at all. But on the bright side, when I'm done, I get to go see my family and my puppy and then head of to Cozumel!! I'm for sure gonna take advantage of my last super sweet vacation for a very long time.

Well... only 9 more days until I'm out of Provo. I have a nice LONG 19 hour drive to look forward to... but it's with my dad so there will be some fun to be had! Now it's time to settle down and finish off these final exams... Best of luck to all of you who have exams!!!!

Random Stuff

You may be wondering what this is... well, me and my roommate, Logan, have a "prank war" going on with our buddies across the hall, Scott and Tanner. It all started off with a few hidden banana peels, and then it escalated to having snow thrown on you in the shower and while your sleeping... And now this, duck tape over the door. Don't worry, the doors open inwards, just wanted to leave them a surprise when they opened it next. 

Me and my friend Alison just rockin out at a dance party... you know how we do. 

Ahhh... snowboarding. One of my favorite things. I went today to Park City with some friends and I loved it. It doesn't compare to the alps... but it was still awesome! I have to go as much as possible with my few weeks left!

This is my friend Scott... He was taken unawares with a picture at a basketball game. 

My boy Max. I had this picture sent to me from my dad. Apparently Max thinks he's a dachshund and digging out some rodent. Gotta love that pup. 

FAMILY TIME!!! One of our FEW good pictures as a family with my cousins (on my momma's side). It was awesome to be home and to see all of them. Definitely gonna miss family Thanksgiving for 2 years. I'm sure I'll be well fed though!

You Are Hereby Called to Labor...

So I've seen a few missionaries make a blog for when they're out in the field. I'm making this so that those of you who want to keep up with what I'm doing on my mission you can just check out this blog.

For those of you who don't know, I will be leaving to serve a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will be leaving January 12, 2011.

A few weeks ago I received a letter, possibly the best letter I will ever receive. It said:

Dear Elder Edwards,


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 California Santa Rosa Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.


There is a lot more to the letter, but that is the main part. I'm very excited to go out and serve the Lord and to spread His gospel. I can't wait to get out there to Santa Rosa!!!!