There's a first time for everything

There are some things I have done in the past month that I have never done before.

1. I went to the temple for the first time. On August 30, I went through the Salt Lake temple to receive my endowments. It was a great experience! As I left the temple that day, I wondered why I didn't go through sooner. I have been lucky enough to go back to the temple a few times since then, and it has been a great blessing in my life.

2. I went to my first wedding. I realized that, although I have been to many wedding receptions, I have never actually seen a wedding ceremony. Last weekend I had the opportunity to see my first, and it was my niece's wedding. It is a little weird for me when I stop and think about how I have a niece who is married now, but it was an awesome wedding, and I'm grateful that I got to be part of it.

3. I ran out of gas for the first time. I took my nieces to the park one day, and on the way home, my car stopped and wouldn't start again. I panicked because my car had been making some nasty grinding noises, and I was worried that something was majorly wrong with it. My sister-in-law and I towed my car home, and I asked my dad to look at it that night. He gave me a pretty hard time when he realized that my car was fine...it just needed some gas. I'm just glad it was my dad who made that discovery instead of a mechanic! (I'm also grateful that it didn't cost a fortune to fix it!)

4. I went to my first Demolition Derby! Let me just tell you...there are few things in life more awe-inspiring than a demolition derby. Life just doesn't get any better than watching a bunch of old, fixed-up cars driving around in mud and running into each other. I was so sad that I forgot my camera! I tried to get some video with my phone (posted below), but it's not very high quality. My phone battery also died, so I wasn't able to catch much of the action. It was a highly entertaining and enlightening experience, and I think it's something everyone needs to experience at least once.