called to serve: elder joshua ted monsen (:

"i will go, i will do the things the Lord commands..."

--lds hymn

on wednesday, my good friend joshua ted left on his mission to spokane, washington and i've never been more proud (: josh didn't give up when he was told he wouldn't be able to go on a mission. instead, he kept striving to be better. and look where it got him!

josh and i pretty much grew up together.  he has been in my ward since before time began, i think.  there isn't a church memory i have that doesn't involve josh and his family in some way. my favorite is when we had sunday school together, and my mom was the teacher.  he would sit in the corner and make moo-ing sounds into his tie through all the spiritual parts of the lesson, and then tell everyone he was going to graduate from hogwarts instead of richfield high.  then when it came time for college, josh and i both decided to move up here to uvu.  we had some great times together freshman year, especially the time he decided he wanted to go to krispy kreme with me... in his footie pajamas. complete with butt flap. but honestly, if he wasn't so hilarious, i don't think anyone would put up with his crap.

don't get me wrong... josh knew how and when to be serious.  i'll never forget the day: playing football in the lake with josh actually turned into an hour long heart-to-heart.  i felt like i could trust him with anything, and those kind of people are hard to come by...

memories:

josh stole my halloween costume...

fun fact: he can run faster in heels than a normal person can run in tennis shoes.

this is normal... for him. haha (:

fun fact: he can memorize rap songs faster than anyone.

the day he decided to wake hannah up... didn't work out so well.

(wearing her scarf.)

fun fact: he secretly wanted to keep that scarf.

ice skating on halloween... what. a. character. hahaha

fun fact: ice is a half-champ skater.

new years eve with ike & josh... josh felt like they were on a man date...

and i think ike liked it?

fun fact: there is no fun fact associated with this picture.

...

i'm gonna miss josh. i'll think of him every time i watch a basketball game, hear a lil wayne or ke$ha song, go to church, or see anyone in footie pajamas (complete with buttflap!).  he is one of the best boys i know, and i am positive he will do amazing out there. i definitely plan on writing him the occasional letter...7th ward for life! love you! (: