Summer Lovin'

So we've already been back in the school business for a couple weeks now, but I thought I'd give you all a look into our fabulous summer we just had. There are way too many pictures to sift through, so I complied a few of the favorites in an effort to cut your scrolling time in half :)

Needless to say, it was a dream getting to be with my husband all day everyday for a month. I will say it took us a few days to figure out how to be around each other again for more than 2 hours a day, but we pulled through. We apparently still like each other, so no worries!

(I realized I already put half of these pictures on facebook, so if you want to scroll through quickly, I'll never know!)

We stayed in KC for a week after school ended before heading to Utah for the rest of the summer. And I, like many of my friends out here, put my study-free husband to work on a project I've been waiting for months to accomplish! We refinished our coffee table and we were pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out! After our week of DIY and partying with our fellow 1st year families, we headed to the mountains.

Sure missed this beautiful sight!

Over the 4 weeks we traveled up and down the entire state a couple times, but it was well worth it. We were able to catch up with wonderful friends and family. Cam just enjoyed being able to "watch" hours upon hours of golf without feeling guilty about not studying!

I left Cam to a week of watching golf and helping with projects in Logan, and headed to another fun filled week of Be The Best You Girls Camp - the 8th year in a row! My heart is so full every year after this week of laughing, serving, and being with the most incredible ladies who love the Lord and live it.

So grateful for Barbara, her example and legacy! 

 I hope someday I can be the kind of profound influence in someone's life as this lady has been in mine. If you want to get to know the Savior better, just become friends with Sara Allen. 

 Oh how my heart loves them. Some of the greatest examples in my life are in this picture :) Living testimonies that trials in this life make the most beautiful women when you turn to the Savior. I'm so lucky to be part of this incredible team of coordinators! 

 Really though, at the end of the day.. all we are is just a bunch of crazies who love a good dance party and late night fast food runs! 

Sadly I had to leave BBY a few days early this year, but I was grateful for the time I did get to be there. Towards the end of the week we headed up to Silver Gate Montana (near the North entrance to Yellowstone) for Cam's Grandpa King's celebration of life and memorial. He passed away a few months ago, and it was neat to come together with family and friends to celebrate his life and legacy.

I hadn't been to Yellowstone in years! We were complete tourists with our excitement about the bison! Loved hanging with these cute littles for a few days as well! 

After our mountain adventures and 20 hours of driving in a car for 4 days, we stayed in once place for a while with my family. It was Fiesta Days time, so much of our time was spent flipping hot dogs at the rodeo and celebrating July 24th! Cam even went and sold water in the stands - what a good sport :) 

I really can't believe my family has been running the Key Club concessions stand at the rodeo for 10 years now! 

Starting her young! 

Cheered on the little sister as she sang in the SF's got talent. She did a fabulous job!

Hiked/walked up to Bridal Veil Falls~ Cam got a little wet :) 

Celebrating the 24th out at the reservoir! Was it a blast? Yes! Did I get the worst sunburn known to man on my legs? Yes. Wear sunscreen kids. It will save you a lot of tears. 

So proud of this girl's decision to be baptized :) 

Uncle Cam playing pretty princess :) He's such a good sport

Adventures with the Lucy bear! If you need a good music video filmed, she's your girl! Also.. apparently she doesn't believe in King family nap time anymore. Thus we had netflix time instead :)

I was probably the worst wife ever, but I sent Cam back to start school again while I stayed one more week to play with my family. I was so sad we missed our Tanner reunion at Snowbird last year, so I took full advantage of soaking up some more memories and loving these pretty mountains :) 

Don't ask me why we decided to hike in the rain.. but we did!

The same hike in the sun :) & our annual cousin pictures! Love these girls! 

Other adventures of the week! So glad Hillary could come up with her littles and play with us :) 

I also taught my family how to play pickle ball - a sport I have come to learn and love being a member of the King family! 

Hanging with our favorite little person at the park :) 

It was a much needed break from the real world, but we were also grateful we had such an incredible home and friends to come back to. Here's to some very fun summer memories with the people I love with all my heart! 

A Bit Of My Heart

Well my friends, tomorrow is the last day of the school year for us! Cam will take his last final tomorrow morning, then he will officially be a second year. Hooray! These last 6 weeks have been killer, but we see the light! I'm ready to have my husband back for a bit:) 

I apologize for the very long break in posting on here. You see, I kind of got to this place where I didn't have much to say, I felt like I wasn't doing much with my life, and didn't care for the entire internet world to know. 

But I want to catch up because I'm excited for summer with Cam and the fun adventures we're going to have over the next month. I have had many and multiple drafts of this post, but I think I finally organized all my thoughts how I want them this time. You see, it's been a very growing year for the both of us. It's been tough and rough, but all the while I've endured, sometimes with a better attitude than other times. I wanted to share a few of the lessons I've learned over the past little while, whether by choice or not, and hopefully this will make up for the absence of my writing.

1- Base Hits

So.. I kind of lost myself a bit this year.
Over the course of a few months I slowly let the adversary in, and didn't even realize it until it was staring me in the face. There were too many tears and feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy. I got to a point where I started doubting my strengths because my greatest weaknesses were being exposed, and I had no outlet for what I considered my strengths to be. I was called to serve in a church calling that is quite far out of my comfort zone. Work turned out to be different than I had imagined. I ended up quitting my job, then kind of lost all motivation and determination for anything. Satan crept in slowly like smoke, and it's taken a lot of conscious effort to force him to leave. Part of me wishes I could rewind and try again with the mindset I now have. However, it is always better to look forward and meet life head on. So while I feel like I lost myself for a bit there, I've spent the past little while trying to find myself again and figure out who I am now with each of these experiences and more.

I know exactly who I want to be. That's not the issue. For me, I've known what I've wanted for a very long time. My problem was, I wasn't sure just how to get there. Especially now in a new place, with new people, and my timid shy personality.

There was a night a few months ago, where Cam and I had a conversation that was kind of a turning point for me. Cam sat me down at the kitchen table after dinner, and we had a chat about baseball. We are after all, in the home of the Royals.

We're the best of friends who knows the other's hopes and dreams, so my husband and I give each other daily pep talks. He explained things like this: A baseball team can't rely solely on home runs to win the game. Mostly because they are very rare. Instead, the team works together to get on base- 1 base hit at a time. You build up enough base hits, you get a guy home. This is a more reliable way to win the game.

Now, I never had too many sports analogies growing up - nobody in my house really stuck with sports. We were artsy folk - dancers, musicians. But I did understand this one.

He went on to explain: We need to figure out some base hits you can swing for that will help you achieve your winning score. It's better to swing for a base and win the opportunity, then to swing so hard every time for a home run - because those are very rare.

So that day I started to look at my plans and myself a bit differently. I came up with a list of base hits for every dream I have - and I have a lot. I needed to stay busy enough to keep Satan out of my head, and accomplish enough to feel like I'm really contributing to society, the Lord, and my dreams. I made a schedule for myself of everything I need to accomplish each day in order to keep moving forward. And slowly but surely, every day I'm now working towards base hits. I don't give myself a lot of downtime anymore, and have kept my netflix watching to a bare minimum :) And while I haven't won any specific game yet, I'm a lot happier. I have tiny successes that I'm proud of instead of constantly looking at the home run wishing that could be me.

Lest you think the solution to my problems was just about making a schedule and a baseball pep talk, I also needed the Lord. He is so patient with me. I make the same mistake over and over again of thinking I can handle this mortal life by myself. Well newsflash, I can't. We are a team, and I will never make it without Him. If you've ever heard me testify that it's the little things we do every day that make a big difference in the end, know that this knowledge comes from the deepest parts of my soul. I know for myself that scriptures, prayer, regular temple attendance, tithing, fasting, fast offerings, and fulfilling our callings are what will truly save us every day. I've learned this so many times over the years. With all of this, I am reminded of this great counsel given by such a humble servant: "The adversary succeeds when we relax our commitment to the Savior" - Elder L. Tom Perry. How true this is.

So it's taken a while. Change really did a number on my thoughts this past year, but I'm still me. Passionate, sincere, and wanting to change the world one song at a time, me.

If that wasn't all enough for your Rebecca dose today, I did learn some other lessons this year :) Here's just two more that are fun:

2- Humidity.
The humidity can do crazy things with naturally curly hair. But I am proud to say I have mastered my hair out here. I have learned to work WITH the humidity as straightening my hair is a lost cause. So curls all around!

3- Family is more than blood
When we moved here last year we had no idea what kind of social situations were waiting for us. All we prayed for was that we would be able to find good friends. Well, our prayers have been answered tenfold. We are part of the most incredible ward I've ever been in; and somehow the Lord knew that we needed that. In addition, Cam has wonderful friends at school that are a huge support to each other, and I'm so grateful for the support system that is built in to this med school adventure. We have discovered family here. It's the people who help you eat your birthday cake, the people you celebrate holidays with, the people you have scary adventures with, the people who you talk for hours with, the ones who serve you, the ones who let you serve them, the ones you cry and laugh with, and the ones who pick you up from the airport at midnight. Most importantly though, it's the people who are there for you when your blood family is too many miles and hours away. 

It's been a crazy year, but Heavenly Father is so good to us. He knows our hearts, and He is taking care of us. Whether we like it or not, change is inevitable. What we can control however, is how we react, and who we turn to when it's tough. I'm grateful I have the greatest friends and family a girl could hope for, both here in Missouri and back in Utah. Here's to the little things that make a huge impact, and happy summer 2015!!