Day 1 - We love you, Sister Looney!

Hi everyone!  This is Megan's mom; I mean Sister Looney's mom!  I'm going to be sharing Megan's letters here with you while she is serving her mission. I hope you will read and feel her sweet spirit through her words!

Tomorrows the day!

Can't believe the day is finally here! Tomorrow at 1 pm I enter the MTC and begin my mission. 


I'm so excited!


Just in case you wanna write me or something...


My address from July 13, 2011 - August 8, 2011:
Sister Megan Elizabeth Looney
Hawaii Honolulu Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
United States

My address from Aug. 9, 2011 - Jan. 2013:
Sister Megan Elizabeth Looney
Hawaii Honolulu Mission
1500 S Bertania St. Ste 416
Honolulu, HI 96826
United States

My email is megan.looney@myldsmail.com!

A Missionary Church

Why do Mormons go on missions? What do missionaries do? 
click here to find out

Elder Looney

How the heck did this little guy...

turn into this big guy???

I can't believe the time has come for my big little brother to leave on his mission. 

I couldn't be more proud of him. 

and I'm so excited to join him as a fellow missionary in just a few days. 

Love you RyRy. Uruguay is lucky to have you. 

See you in two! 

bright as a shooting star

one of my favorite things about Provo this year has been miss Maddie Gallacher's roof.

Her apartment has the only roof access in all of the Avenues. 

It's the perfect place to catch some rays and on my last night in Provo we discovered its also the perfect place to see shooting stars. 

We saw the most incredible shooting star! It lasted for a good five seconds. It was red and ginormous. 

Seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen and what made it better was that I saw it while hanging out with some of my favorite people: 

Claire Pingree, Lauren McFadyen, and Maddie Gallacher. 

Man I love these girls. 

It was our last night all together and I feel the tears forming just thinking about that. 

 But it's okay because I know we will all be back together again someday. 

In all the world there's only one

Yesterday I arrived at my favorite place.

Tinsley Island

This is were we stay

This is what we do

I've celebrated every 4th of July here since I was born. 

Family, friends,boating, dancing, volleyball plus unlimited sunshine and water...

This is summer to me :)

I look out the window and what do I see...

Three Arch Bay baby! 

This is the view from my bedroom. Not bad for a summer rental eh? 

Thank you Christmas flood of 2010 

(for more info click here to see the video on Ryan's facebook). 

Couldn't ask for a better way to spend my last few weeks at home. 

18 days and counting!!!

Like father like daughter

Recently I've been told that..

#1. I drive like my dad

#2. I think like my dad

I can't think of two greater compliments.  

Basically, I have the best dad in the world. 

My dad is... 

giving

smart

genuine

loving

brave

patient

kind

and

strong

(just to name a few)

When I grow up, I want to be like my dad. 

I love you Daddy. 

Happy Father's Day!

Love,

Mloo

P.S. Once a daddy's girl, always a daddy's girl

this is where I'm going!

5 weeks from today I enter the MTC!

8 weeks from today I will be somewhere near this beautiful place...

The Laie, Hawaii Temple

this is the view from the temple. it's just a half mile to the ocean.

too bad I won't be swimming in it. dang it. 

But it's all good. I will make up for lost time when I take my family on the annual "let's visit my mission trips" :)

one week left in cougartown

5 things I love about Provo:

1. Being less than five minutes away from all my friends
2. All the cute houses south of campus
3. Driving around on monday nights and seeing hordes of FHE groups playing games on their lawns
4. Going for a run and realizing that all of provo decided to go running with you (geez why are byu students so healthy?)
5. Y mountain: hiking it (Jess we will do this this week i promise) and seeing it lit up for homecoming week

So thankful that I get to come back to this wonderful place! Yeah spring 2013 baby. 

super exclusive

"This picture sums it all up" - Nick Rose

To celebrate Memorial day weekend and Jake Jones' 24th birthday, five of my friends and I escaped to Catalina Island.  

We spent five glorious days together and as Claire Pingree stated, "It was one of the top three best weekends in my entire life." 

I think some of us could argue that it WAS the best weekend of our entire lives. Thank you thank you thank you Pam and Papa Looney. 

Highs of the trip:

• Ziplining with Timmy
• Karaoke at El Galleon
• (Boys singing "I want it that way", girls singing "total eclipse of the heart")
• Dancing at the Chi Chi Club
• Cruising down PCH blasting "let me take you out"

All in all, I'd say this was a very good group.

For more pictures of our super exclusive weekend, see Claire Pingree's facebook album "Catalina...don't look at me"

For more information on why our weekend was super exclusive, please follow this link.

the big picture

When I'm having a hard day, I try to find a way to remind myself of the big picture.

One way to do this is by going to the airport and catching the nearest flight to anywhere. 

I love being in a plane and looking out the window (I always choose the window seat). I love how small the world gets as you're flying through the air. It puts everything into perspective. 

But let's be real for a second, hopping on an airplane that often isn't realistic (haha although I have flown home six out of the last nine weekends. ooops) an easier way for me to gain a little perspective is to call my momma. 

Because in case you didn't know, she is really smart :) My mom is always trying to expand her knowledge and learn new things; therefore, she has lots of great insight to share on a range of subjects. 

One of the gems of knowledge my momma has shared with me is a poem that is hanging in her office. I love going in there whenever I'm home and reading it. 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Thanks Momma  

clairebear returns

last night my dearest Clairebear came home. 
All is right in the world again. all is right. 

summer is for ice cream

If you know me, you know that I LOVE ice cream. 

Unfortunately the normal version doesn't do good things for my brain or body so thanks to my momma I've discovered the wonderfulness of raw ice cream. 

I made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. check it out. 

Chocolate Chip Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients: 

4 very ripened bananas, frozen

1 cup fresh cherries, pitted (can also use frozen)

1 tbsp raw cacao powder (add more or less according to taste)

2 tbsp raw cacao nibs

1/2 vanilla bean or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

raw agave to taste (about 2-4 tbsp)

pinch of sea salt

Preparation: 

Pre-freeze bananas - select 4 very ripened (brown spots on skin), peel them and wrap in plastic wrap or place in covered container and freeze for at least 24 hours. Break frozen bananas in 1/2 or 1/4 and place in food processor along with raw cacao powder, sea salt, vanilla and 1/2 of the cherries. Process until smooth and creamy, adding more agave if necessary. Finally add remainder of cherries and cacao nibs, pulse just enough to break up cherries and ensure they and cacao nibs are evenly mixed throughout the ice cream. Eat some now (wonderful soft-serve consistency) and freeze the rest for later. Enjoy!

Notes:

1) all measurements (with the exception of the 4 bananas) are approximate - adjust according to your taste.

2) You may want to add a little more agave than you think you need to account for the cacao nibs that are added at the end.

3) I put mine in my ice cream maker for 15-20 minutes to make it a more ice cream like consistency. 

http://goneraw.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-cherry-chocolate-ice-cream

sunshine and saltwater

Last night, we got back from our memorial day weekend getaway. It felt like such a long vacation, in the best way possible. 

It was EPIC to say the least. 

Thanks to Clairebear Pingree our trip was well-documented. We took over 750 pictures plus hours worth of video. haha.

I will post more about it later. 

This weekend I was once again reminded of the healing powers of sunshine and saltwater. After a few days of lounging in the sun mixed with bouts of swimming in the ocean, I feel like a new person. 

I was also reminded that everyone looks better with a tan. 

Yesterday Ryan and I went to the Newport Beach Temple with our mom and Hans. It was such a great day. I love going to the temple and feeling the spirit there. It's so refreshing to be able to escape the world for a little bit and be reminded of where we came from, why we are here and where we are going. 

Now it's back to the grind here in P town. I only have 2 1/2 weeks left here! yikes. and six weeks from today I will be entering the MTC (Missionary Training Center)!!!!!! crazy

our catalina adventure begins tonight

california here we come!

food matters. food matters. food matters

Guess what!!! 

You don't have to be sick. No one has to be sick. 

This morning I watched Food Matters.

If you have any interest in your health and happiness or that of your loved ones, watch this. You can go to netflix.com, sign up for a free trial, and watch it right now on your computer for free. 

Knowledge is power and sometimes you have to take your life into your own hands.  

Newport Beach Temple

A week from today I get to go here! I can't wait!

early bird gets the worm...not

Today I had to be at work at 8:30 a.m. for a meeting. 

And like this little guy, I am NOT a morning person (much to my father's dismay when he asks me to join him for his 5:30 a.m. workouts every time I'm home)

Today I realized that I would be a much better student and employee and person in general if I wasn't expected to be places before 10 a.m.....actually let's make it 11 a.m.

It doesn't matter what I'm waking up early for or how good the idea sounds the night before...as soon as my alarm goes off I am fighting back all sorts of horrible thoughts about how badly I want to hurt the person that is responsible for it.  

Missionaries are required to wake up at 6:30 a.m. EVERY DAY.

The only reason this hasn't deterred me from rejecting my call is because missionaries also are required to go to bed by 10:30 p.m. EVERY NIGHT. 

Eight hours of sleep every night for 18 months....this is going to be glorious. 

well-trained tear ducts

The other day I was driving, this song came on the radio, and I started crying. 

Hahaha. 

I've cried more in the past six months than I have in the rest of my life put together. 

Thanks to some good best friends and some humbling experiences, my new ability to cry at the drop of a hat is something that I'd like to say I'm proud of. 

I don't know what it means exactly, but I like being able to feel every emotion, even if it's uncomfortable.

I think this song got to me because it reminds me that hard work, honesty, and love is what matters. And above all else...FAMILY is the most important thing in our lives. 

This is almost my entire family (minus my sisters, Christina & Mia, plus Steele)

This was taken right after Nate graduated from USC. 

Now that is something to be proud of. 

bike gang

Goal: ride bikes as much as possible

our favorite sunday afternoon activity

Lauren is the master of bike tricks...actually all tricks. 

Thanks to Carley Wells for letting me borrow her bike this spring!