This year for Thanksgiving, Amanda and I went to Nalani and Jed's house (cousins on my Dad's side). Some more cousins were there, along with aunts and uncles and Nalani's friends. As a teenager, I dreaded family gatherings where strange old people hugged me and said "You're huge!" ("SO ARE YOU!" was my response) But I have come to really enjoy family events. Its fun to see similarities between my parents and their siblings. Its cool how so many people automatically love you just cuz you're related. Its nice to be a part of something so loving. If you know my mother Jana Bell, you know she loves decorating and entertaining, and she's good at it! One year, a conversation between my mom and I went as follows:

Mom: "What should we do to decorate the table for Thanksgiving this year?" Me:"Well last year's set up was beautiful. Why don't we just do the same thing this year?" Mom: "Robin I cant just do the same thing. That's like wearing last year's prom dress!"

I know not everyone cares about the display of Thanksgiving dinner but I sure like it. That being said, I really appreciated how beautiful everything was at Nalani's. The table was set using her Grandma's China, napkin holders, tall stemmed glasses... everything to make it feel like a special occasion.

Yesterday I had a friend run the Santa Clause 5k here. Every runner got the same Santa suit/beard, so there were herd's of Santa's running up and down the streets of Ogden. Afterward was a little Holiday parade and the lighting of the Christmas village "downtown." We didn't stay for all the festivities (we were frozen!) but it was great to start the holidays.

I was Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch for Halloween. I had to think of a costume for work that would still be obvious with my lab coat covering me from shoulders to knees. I have a mini water bottle inside my hair and wires in my pig tails. I had to drive with my head sideways so my hair could clear the Jeep's ceiling. The End. Merry Christmas!

Catherine and Liz drove up from Southern California, picked me up in Ogden and we spent the weekend in Rexburg. Catherine just left on her mission so we had one last hoorah with our Idaho friends before she entered the MTC. She will be serving in Argentina - Buenos Aires West Mission.

We visited Bishop Sevy and his wife in their home that Sunday afternoon. Bishop Sevy is the Rexburg Temple Recorder- that is his full time occupation so he spends all day everyday in the temple. He has such unique, profound insights and wisdom regarding the Savior and the temple. After a round of hugs and laughter, Bishop shared some special experiences he has had and how it applies to each of us individually. Sister Sevy passed around the tissues. Several hours later, we left the Sevy's home filled with the spirit, ecstatic about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and full of hope for the future. I have so much respect and admiration for the Sevys!

Please no more deaths. 7 in 1 year is too much. I don't want to have to attend another funeral for a LONG time.

Its really happened. The house sold, David and the parents are living in Palmer Alaska and I moved to Ogden Utah. I never pictured this actually happening but here we are! Amanda and I are living in the basement of a cute little house with our cousin Monica Savage while my Uncle Mylan lives upstairs. The dog Honey made her way to Ogden as well.
I drove my favorite white jeep from Seattle to Utah. Its almost as old as me, but with the help of many prayers it made it with out any problems. It was the beginning of September when it was so HOT and the jeep does not have AC. All the windows were down, the wind was loud, and I was sweating. Those who know me are not surprised that I found no use for much clothing while driving. However, when I pulled up to get gas in Oregon, I forgot that they pump your gas and I pulled up to the pump with only a tank top and underwear on. I was reaching for my shorts when the man was walking toward me! I got so scared and pulled away as he was about to talk to me. I shimmied my clothes back on and pulled back up to the pump. It was an awkward but funny encounter!

Monica and I have been best buds since we were kids. She's always lived in Kaysville and I always lived in Seattle but we have been pen-pals since we first learned to write. Growing up, I would spend at least a week at her house each summer, usually after the 4th of July. We'd spend the days at Lagoon, Cherry Hill, watching Goonies, playing Yahtzee, Phase 10, Mankala, and GIGGLING the entire time. Her Dad (Mylan), and my Mom are siblings. She came home from her mission to Toronto Canada 2 months ago and is going to school at Weber. She's planning to do the radiology program, and working at Ogden Beauty Supply. While Monica was gone, her parents moved from Kaysville to Ogden, her sister got married, and Monica's mom passed away after a bad car accident. Obviously, her world is upside down. My life isn't upside down like hers but its shifted quite a bit now that I'm graduated and my family moved to Alaska. So I think we've been good for each other in dealing/laughing through life's uncomfortable or painful changes.

Unexpectedly, I love Ogden. The singles ward is small, but we are in a whole stake of Young Single Adult wards so there are plenty of people to meet. I love having so many relatives nearby. I don't have many friends yet but I haven't felt lonely because so many cousins and their cute kids are nearby. However, my Seattle friend Sara Batt lives here and she does hair so I do have one friend, and a hairdresser! I love my relatives! There's never a shortage of love around here! I like that I will get to be here for things like the Savage Family Christmas Party and visiting my Grandma.

The Bell side has monthly themed cousin dinners which will be great. I love all the small adorable houses and how simple directions are in Utah. I like that there are definite seasons. Up until this week it was 80 degrees and now the cold front moved in and it officially looks/feels like fall. Amanda and I hiked up the mountains one day and it was BEAUTIFUL! Not like Seattle, but still beautiful in its own way. I like that people always seem to pass through Utah. My old roommate Heidi came home to Sandy for conference weekend and we met up so I could meet her newborn girl, Cora. She is precious.

We live just on the other side of Snow Basin which will be fun for Snowboarding this winter. My mom was in town for ANOTHER funeral... we'll talk about that another day :( and she was able to go to the Relief Society General Mtg at the Conference Center with us. Our ward had tons of tickets and a bus for transportation. How cool is that?

In the picture of us at the temple I forgot I had a tattoo on my arm from a 5k I did that morning. Jadeyn Glauser asked me to volunteer with her and then we could participate for free. It was called the 5k Foam Fest and it was a huge obstacle course, crossing little rivers by crawling on inner-tubes that were linked together, a slip n slide, army crawling under barbed wire, running over mini mud mountains, balancing on 2x4s, crawling through big logs, making your way through what felt like a human carwash, being sprayed with foam/bubbles and so forth. IT. WAS. SO. FUN. Next family reunion we need to do one of these! It would be so fun to do in a big group, regardless of skill level. (If you're not comfortable doing the obstacle you can just go around.) There were 2 unhygenic girls in horrible homemade mermaid costumes. I had to document.

Jadeyn's sisters and Aunts participated as well. Afterward we all had our picture taken in the bubble bath. This could have been awkward since I was bathing with people I barely knew, but I was having too much fun to care.

And the greatest news of all is.... I HAVE A JOB! I interviewed with Baxter BioLife Sciences Plasma Center in Layton on Friday and they told me they would let me know by Tuesday. However, I received a call only 2 hours after my interview, offering me the position above what I applied for! And I will receive a dollar more an hour than I expected. Its a pretty good starting pay for Utah. Its full time, with benefits. I feel so relieved and thankful and blessed to have a job! I was worried I would move here, wonder what on earth I had done, wasting time and money being unemployed. I received the job the last day of my phlebotomy class. Perfect timing. I'm shocked there hasn't been more hoops to jump through. It will be nice that coworkers and plasma donors will generally be around my age. I was afraid I would have to move to Salt Lake where there are more jobs. But for the first time my plan and Heavenly Father's seemed to be the same. Hallelujah.

832 Lancaster Way SE

David and my parents are now living in Palmer, Alaska, while my dad works in Anchorage. Our house is for sale and I am sad to think this will no longer be my refuge to come back to. It's silly how sentimental I am over a dang house!

So here it is, and why I love it:

The house "stager" made everything look really neutral (and boring) so it appeals to a greater audience. So it definitely does not have the same life to it but the pictures are still nice.

I was usually in the room on the top left. The walls of that room have changed as much as I have! They have been painted red, yellow, green, blue, purple (and back to boring old taupe) thanks to me! I had a hammock that hung from the ceiling, a wall plastered with pictures/posters of Aerosmith, friends, magazine ads, shoe calendars, drawings, and of course Jesus himself.

When I see my parents room I picture my Dad at the bedside, on his knees in prayer. I see myself cuddling with my mom, which has been and always will be the solution to life's struggles.

The room below makes me think of:
-Wonderful home teachers - Art Vikari, Tim Matthews, Grandpa Hoffman and more.
-Jana Bell's secret toy cupboard used to win the hearts of adorable children
-Games with the Cluffs- when my dad did a somersault, reenacting a post-touchdown celebration.
-Christmas Eve - my dad reading scriptures and meant to say "and the angel said, HAIL!" (with emphasis), and it sounded like "HELL!" ...caused excessive, inappropriate giggling.
-New Years Eve Parties
-My mom reading Parade magazine on Sunday afternoons

Mom's cute dishes, Christmas caramels, Amanda's ice cream, and Dad's famous chocolate chip cookies.
Dancing in the kitchen circle

The Treehouse my Dad rebuilt:
-Slumber Parties, Falling asleep to Remember the Titans
-Getting in trouble for laughing too loud with friends in the wee hours of the night
-Bonfires (in the fire pit, not in the tree house) - end of the school year parties, burning school papers, birthdays
-Neighbors and kids in awe of our awesome rope swing. My cousin Scott Savage climbed way up a tree and out onto a branch to make the swing when he lived with us one summer. A few girls had the privilege of watching my mother fly off the rope swing into the stinging nettle... TWICE :)Her favorite wrist-watch still resides there.


Dinners on the Deck:
My favorite is eating summer meals on the deck that I helped build and later refinish. Seattle's lush greenery mixed with Daurell Bell's hard work creates the picture perfect yard. Perfect for party-hosting too! (I sound like a commercial...)

Amelia cleaning and organizing, shooting hoops out front with David, always having an extra person living with us, Amanda nannying the funny neighbors- the Hines. Sledding on our big driveway, sneaking Mom's dipping chocolate, "we need to talk" fights in the den: if the door is closed, I wouldn't go in there!, and my favorite was how BEAUTIFUL the house always was at Christmas. Lots of lights and decor :)

I know I have been blessed to grow up in such a beautiful home/area with happy memories so hopefully I can just be grateful for what I've had instead of sad it will no longer be ours. Time to make a new home.

My mom was going through old things and found some accessories that belonged to my Great Grandma O. Clip on earrings, frilly apron, and sassy glasses - this was my attire while cooking dinner. I was just waiting to hear "honey I'm home!" The rope thing around my neck is a pair of retro suspenders! Must have been my Grandpas?

I'm a college graduate! I now have a Bachelor's degree in Health Science with an emphasis in Public Health. I finished my internship and my last class online so I went back to Rexburg to do the cap and gown thing. I'm glad I decided to "walk" and
do the whole hoop-lah. (BYU-Idaho President Kim B. Clark, left, and Elder Paul K. Sybrowsky, right)
The actual ceremony where you sit and listen is kind of a snore-fest but the little moment where they read "Robin Lesa Bell" was satisfying and my favorite was being there with all my classmates.
There was group of us that had a lot of classes together and became study-buddies over the last year of taking the upper division credits together. You get to know each other well when you see each other all day everyday - weird! It was fabulous to reunite and talk about how much we loved or hated certain classes, awesome & awkward professors, and the funny tidbits in-between.
Everyone asks, "So what's next?"
Here's my set in stone plan that will probably change because everything does: I'm registered to start a phlebotomy course, (the person who draws your blood, NOT lebotomy- the brain scrambling) Sept 2 in Clearfield so I will move in with my cousin Monica in Ogden(who came home from her mission yesterday! - finally!) while I get certified as a phlebotomist. Then I'll get a job wherever, maybe in Utah if I enjoy living there... Being a phlebotomist will give me good experience and add to the million hours of experience I need for PA school. (Physician's Assistant - NOT Parking Attendant) I plan to be loaded so you'll want to stay friends with me. I like to party.

I'm a little overdue for my recap of Winter Semester in Idaho but here goes. I lived at The Colonial House again for my last semester on campus. (This post probably isn't that cool to anyone except me... like usual! but oh well! Its kind of like a journal entry for me so its worth it)
Roommates: L to R: Me, Rebekah, Catherine, Kelsey
Kelsey Johnson was my room-rommate. (Denver CO - Social work Major) She was the very first person I met as a freshman and we lived together before she went on her mission to the Philippines. Kelsey never sleeps, is always laughing and I've realized there is nobody in the universe like her. She's quirky yet quality!
Rebekah Zarkou (Boise - Interior Design Major) and Catherine Bird (Thousand Oaks - {Psychology Major) - previous roommates whom I adore, couldn't have asked for better friends.
Kelsey Robey (Exercise Phys Major)and Michelle Campbell (Public Health Major), both from Bellevue. They were new to our apartment. Kelsey was engaged all semester so we saw a lot of her man Zach and Michelle was dating a kid too. Very compassionate girls, always ready with a compliment, hopefully in an Asian accent if you're lucky. :) They wanted to set me up with different guys and they asked "Do you care if we've both kissed him?" haha!
Classes I took: Health Program Planning and Implementation, Epidemiology, Drugs of Use and Abuse, Environmental Health, and First Aid... I think that's it?
I didn't take many pictures this semester but here's a few.

Lunch at Great Harvest (personal favorite) with my Health Science study buddies, Erin Wade and Eric Nielson.

Quick trip to Jackson for a hockey game on my birthday.

Lincoln Reed, Danny Jackson and Marc Lefevre have become close friends through ups and downs but mostly lots of tears of pain cuz I can't breathe I'm laughing so hard. The day I was leaving they brought me flowers and chocolate. My 2 favorite things. So thoughtful. I mean really... who does that?
After finals wrapped up, I said my many goodbyes, cleaned out my apartment, loaded up the old Jeep with everything I own, and pulled out of town. Oh how emotional I was! I've always been grateful for BYU-Idaho but I was officially leaving the best thing that ever happened to me. I'll be back to Rexburg the end of July to officially graduate once my internship and online class are completed. And then... on to the next... whatever that is!

I spent June 1st-8th in Maui with my mother Jana Bell, my sister Amanda and a good friend Lindsey Glauser. Oh it was FABULOUS! Aderder (Amanda) took some pretty sick pictures on her phone.


Lindsey and I took surfing lessons and then we went again the next day. Loved it! Here we are riding the same board!

Right before the "That can't be real" sunset

Loved the Luau on the beach @ the Marriott

Luau boys!

For Amanda's Birthday we went to Kimo's in Lahaina. I had coconut crusted swordfish!! YUM!


One of the many waterfalls along the Road to Hana.
I attempted studying on the beach but my notecards blew away into the ocean. These are a few Amanda recovered. That was my final attempt. For some reason I just didn't want to memorize nasty reproductive infections while Lindsey was next to me browsing through this month's InStyle.
Lindsey and I chattin it up.

My Mudder in the shade

Sunscreened Forehead

Happiness:


Those are just a few out of the hundreds of photos we took. Oh I'm ready to go back!!!

I just came home from a week in Hawaii and I'm having trouble being back... I have to study and take my Pathophysiology Test which is always a beast and now this beast is about to own me after a week of basically zero studying. I just have to be grateful I got to go at all. I miss Hawaii. I miss living there and how simple life is on the island. Shorts and a T, flip-flops, no make up, the warm sun, easily entertained by just being outside, people are generally very friendly... I was always healthy with out really trying. Walking everywhere, swimming, boogie boarding, hiking, living on fresh fruit etc., which in turn makes me feel better about myself all around. I'm trying to rearrange my life right now so that I can move back there. My family is moving to Alaska and I have to be an adult soon. UGH. I know what I want to do but I also know that I'm only happy when I'm doing what the Lord wants me to do. Dangit.