twenty eighteen review

Remember last year when I said I thought this would be the best year yet? I was right. I have never been happier in my entire life. This year brought about so many changes, so many hard times, so many new experiences, and the happiest moments of my entire life.

2018 was the year I have been waiting for and it definitely was worth the wait. This year brought true meaning to my life. The experiences I have gone through this year will be with me for the rest of my life and I could not be more grateful.

This year I learned to really ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS

"Enjoy the little things," has always been my life motto (hence the heading of this blog). This quote, which seems extremely simple can be one of the hardest lessons to learn.

Easily the highlights of this year were...
- Ending high school with my best friends crashing dances, going to baseball games and doing new things
- Washington D.C.
- Graduating high school
- Starting my photography business
- Senior trip with my best friends to Mexico
- GHANA, easily the best three weeks
- Greyson coming home!!! happiest day of my life
- Spending every day of summer with my best friends before they left
- Disney Land with my lover

This year I truly did learn to enjoy the little things. All of those highlights of my year are the reasons why. I never new I could be so extremely happy by spending time with people I love, hours of laughing with my best friends, and serving complete strangers. The happiest moments of this year and possibly my whole life was helping people in Africa. They had so much love to share. I was drenched in sweat and thirsty and I had never been happier. Helping build an orphanage and seeing the gratitude of people were so worth it. The next happiest moment was when I was able to hug my best friend again. HOLY, that felt so good.

I am no expert, but I truly believe life is best enjoying the little things and always keeping that in mind. I mean I would rather have a girls night eating popcorn with my mom than attending a college party, that is me enjoying the little things too haha. It can be anything, but mostly not worrying what other people care about, helping others, and living life how YOU want to spend it not how others think you should spend it.

Now this post was extremely random with random scattered thoughts... but every. single. word. I MEAN! This was a year to remember with so many scary but exciting changes and I am a bit sad it is over. However, I KNOW for certain next year will be the best I will ever have.

2019 will be filled with the best of the best.
- Greyson
- NEW changes
- Graduating college
- Florida
- New service projects
- Growing my business
- CHINA

This year was by far the fastest time has ever flown.. IT NEEDS TO SLOW DOWN or speed up IDK!

Enjoy the new year and enjoy the little things

HAPPY NEW YEAR
-Lex

lovell family holiday card 2018

Here. Are. The. Lovell. Family. Annual. Pictures

This year has been full of SO many changes. With graduating high school, going to college, starting up my own business, some of my best friends moving across the country/world, and with my best friend coming home; this year has had many downs followed with the highest ups. One of the things that are most comforting in life is that I have this family to lean on. They motivate me with everything I do and our my biggest supporters. Family pictures are one of my favorite traditions. You would think after taking them for so many years we would be half decent at them... WRONG! My dad still says so many (dad) jokes and cannot take a serious pictures, my mom is still a model, I am still as awkward as can be, but this year was good to Alec; look at that smile! He finally took a non serious picture. We are a proud family over here. Anyway, here are the pictures of my favorite people. 

 

 

the best three years

Today, my best friend and I are celebrating our third anniversary. I cannot believe it has been three years; I remember it as if it was yesterday. 

Three years ago, an 18-year-old boy came to hang out with my friends and me for the third day in the row. The first two days my friends had set it up with me knowing it, and I was incredibly awkward. I was a sophomore in high school and tried to avoid the situation. However, the night of the second day I was crushing hard. The third day I invited him to come with us to Dixie Rock, and we talked for hours. Although we talked about ice cream and fire trucks, we talked the entire time which was a huge improvement of me. The rest of the night we looked at Christmas lights and just talked, and I knew he was something special. That night we kissed for the first time. We hung out every day of Christmas break and almost every day for the next six months until I said goodbye that summer. 

The next two years were some of the longest and hardest of my life. Greyson was there every step of the way. He was there to write me every Monday morning, and we were able to talk for an hour back and forth on google chats (hands down my favorite app back then). We wrote letters to each other for two years and finding a new batch of them in the mailbox was always the best part of the week. With being able to communicate between letters or emails for two years, we became closer than I could have imagined. 

June 5, 2018, was the best day of my life. Greyson returned from his LDS mission, and it was like he never left. My best friend was back! That summer we were able to date, I took him to one of my favorite places: Blanding, we went to Lake Powell and so much more. Now were are dating and I have never been happier. I have never met anyone so selfless and kind. Greyson is the best person I have ever met and is the biggest blessing in my life. He brings me more happiness than I could have ever imagined. Three years ago I opened up to a stranger, although it felt so comfortable. I have always been quiet and have kept to myself. I still am, and I still could talk to him for hours and laugh with him about everything. He knows more about me than anyone else. I knew three years ago that he was someone special and that I could not live without him.

This is to you Greyson, thank you thank you. Thank you for your constant example in my life. I look up to you in every way, and you make me strive to become better. The love that you have for your family and this gospel is so strong. You are selfless, kind, caring, respectful, hilarious (dad jokes and all), and so much more. You are everything to me. Sitting by you on the state bus 38 months ago was the best decision of my life and hanging out with you on Dixie Rock was even a better one.  I cannot wait to see where our future leads us to, and I could not be more excited for all of it. I will be here forever and promise to be there for you. I love you. Thank you for all of our memories and for making me the happiest girl in the world. 

Happy three years and can't wait for the many more years to come!

In honor of our third year anniversary I put together this video of some of our best memories the past three years. Follow the link & enjoy.

-Lex

the ultimate christmas bucket list

Hello, everyone! Since this college semester is over and I have a free minute for the first time in what seems like FOREVER, I finally have time to celebrate my favorite time of the year. Christmas is in twelve days and I cannot wait. Every year to celebrate the holiday season I have a list that I try to complete and am really determined to finish it. The list may be long and intimidating, but SO worth it. Here are my favorite traditions to do during Christmas time! 

- Start a Christmas count down

- Hang Christmas lights

- Bake gingerbread cookies

- Buy an unique Christmas ornament

- Make Christmas cards

- Decorate the tree (and many more)

- Go Christmas caroling

- Read Christmas stories

- Look at Christmas lights

- Light the World challenge

- Decorate gingerbread houses

- Make Christmas cookies for neighbors 

- Act out the Christmas story

- Ugly Christmas Sweater contest

- Eggnog on Christmas Eve

- Go see the temple lights and nativity

- Watch all Christmas movies

- Give gifts

CHRISTMAS MOVIE WATCHLIST

- Elf

- The Grinch

- Frank Clause

- The Santa Clause 1, 2, 3

- The Polar Express

- A Christmas Story

- A Wonderful Life

- A Charlie Brown Christmas

- A Christmas Carol

- Home Alone

- The Nightmare before Christmas

- The Holiday

- Christmas Vacation

- Winnie the Pooh Merry Pooh Year (Christmas Eve tradition)

- Hallmark movies

This is it! Enjoy

Merry Christmas

xx- Lex

the bigger picture

Life is hard sometimes. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with work, school and other priorities that we feel like we're losing ourselves. We have so much stress, and it can be hard to keep the motivation to keep pushing. This is how I have felt many times in the last few months. I have kept my schedule so busy that the only time I have to hang out with my boyfriend is when we are doing homework, and I see my friends when we study at the library. However, when there is a bigger goal in mind and a desire that is worth working for, it can make this stress become lighter and our commitment stronger.
There are so many things to look forward to in life and so many things to work for. I know someday that I want a family and I want a successful job to support them. I know by working hard, it will make my life easier in the future. By achieving good grades, it will save me money in the future for scholarships. I know by placing all my energy in my hard classes it will increase my knowledge of my future career.
What I am trying to say here is to always keep the bigger picture in mind. There is always a bigger, better plan that we may not know of right now. The only way we will know of this plan is when it is all over, and we can look back on what has happened. Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Keeping this in mind and knowing that one day all my dots will connect and I will see how the bigger picture came together, I know all the stress and hard work will be more than worth it.
This is something I have been finding myself thinking of multiple times during the day. Because it can be hard. Especially when you are taking generals and spending all your time on them, and they do not benefit your future career. However, these classes are just another dot that will someday connect, and everything will come together in the end. 

I hope you guys understand this random rambling and possibly even learn something from it!

much love, Lex