Looking Back at my 20's - Lauren Virginia

It’s finally that time. Time for me to enter another decade of my life! I am officially 30 years old! I know a lot of people dread growing old, but I actually think it’s exciting! I’m excited to see where my 30’s take me and how I will learn and grow!

I thought it would be super fun for me to look back at everything I went through, accomplished and did each year of my 20’s! Such a throwback for me to re-live those years! I am definitely blessed with many great experiences in my 20’s, as well as many growing periods during trials!

2009- 20 years Old

I started my medical classes as pre-reqs and discovered my love for anatomy and physiology. I got to participate in a cadaver lab experience and I loved every second of it. This was when I truly began to love and respect God’s amazing creation of the human body.
I developed an amazing friendship with my friend Mandy while studying super hard in our medical classes!
I continued to write a boy on his mission instead of really entering the BYU dating scene.
I was a swimmer for BYU and I loved it! I loved working hard and competing for my university! At the end of my first season though, I ultimately decided to stop swimming because of pure exhaustion and worrying about how to do my medical classes at the same time. This was such a hard decision for me to make because I had been a swimmer for 10 years, but I knew this was the right one.
This year was a hard adjustment with adjusting from being a full time athlete to a full time student and part time employee. I battled depression and struggled to find my true identity outside of swimming.
I went home for the summer and lived in Kentucky for the first time. I enjoyed my summer meeting new friends, hanging with my family, and starting my job at Victoria’s Secret in the Fayette Mall.

2010- 21 years old

After stopping my long swimming career, I focused on my career in the medical field. 2010 I was a sophomore in college and I thought I knew what I wanted to do as my career; dietetics. I applied to the program and was rejected.
After being rejected from dietetics, I realized that I would not have been happy in that field. I knew I loved anatomy and surgery, so I decided I was going to go to medical school or PA school.
I was one of the very few to get to participate in the Cadaver Dissection class at BYU. I LOVED that class and fell in love with the human body even more!
The boy I was writing on his mission came home. What I thought would be an easy dating/marriage road, turned into one of the biggest dating heartbreaks I would have. Turns out he had been lying to me the last year and leading me on as we wrote. Looking back, I am SO thankful this happened because if I would have ended up with him in the long run, I would have been miserable. #GodisGood
I stayed at BYU all year long to complete more medical classes and prepare for PA school. I had a lot of fun taking chemistry classes with all the cute pre-med boys.
My brother Jonathan started attending BYU with me that summer. We had a lot of fun hanging out together, going to our Grandparents house, and doing fun summer activities.
I got to participate in the World’s Largest Water Balloon Fight (that record has now been broken).
Jobs I had this year: Victoria’s Secret, The Canon Center, and I started my new job, and favorite job of college…the BYU Laundry.
I moved into my favorite ward of my BYU career and met so many new, fun friends!
I started my second serious relationship in my life that Fall, thinking it would eventually end in marriage. After meeting his family, and them not approving of me, our relationship ended only 4 months after beginning. But again, I am so thankful that happened and I would have been miserable if I ended up with him. #Godisgood
After talking to my counselor, I discovered the perfect major for me. This career would set me up with a job right out of school AND would prepare me for Medical School. I started my path towards the Clinical Laboratory Science program.

2011- 22 years old

After 2 major breakups in 1 year, I swore I was done with boys. I started the process of applying to go on an LDS mission.
After spending some time in the LDS temple, I got a distinct impression that I wasn’t supposed to go on a mission, and I was meant to stay at BYU and meet my future husband. This didn’t particularly make me happy haha.
I continued to work at the BYU laundry and met even more new friends this semester. My coworker Levi and I decided to get our roommates together for a night snowboarding trip at Sundance.
During this snowboarding trip, I met Kyle Richardson for the first time. The man I would end up marrying by the end of the year. I met him only a week after getting my answer at the temple to not go on a mission.
Kyle and I started out just being friends, and we bonded over snowboarding, school, and playing angry birds on our ipods.
My sister Elizabeth Moody was born!
I decided to stay at BYU that year for Spring Semester, but go home during summer to do an internship to prepare for PA school.
I applied, interviewed and was ACCEPTED to the BYU Clinical Laboratory Science major! I was 1 of 20 accepted!
Jonathan and I flipped off a 4 wheeler while visiting my roommate’s Grandma’s house. I haven’t wanted to ride a 4-wheeler since.
I had a very big falling out with one of my roommates, who I thought was my best friend. She then proceeded to start rumors about me, turn the rest of my roommates against me, and turn many of my friends against me. Some friend, right?
Spring Semester started and I moved into a new apartment with weird roommates. I moved into the same complex as Kyle and once that happened, he asked me out on our first date.
Kyle and I continued to date all Spring Semester and we were inseparable! We decided we were going to date long distance as I went home to Kentucky for the summer.
I went home to Kentucky to spend time with my new sister, the rest of my family and complete an internship at a local allergists office. I love Kentucky summers and I loved spending time with my family.
While I was gone that summer, I Skyped with Kyle every single night. We continued to fall in love and decided we wanted to get married. We started planning our wedding over Skype! I even went and tried on dresses in Kentucky with my Mom!
Fall semester came and Kyle picked me up from the airport. We then went straight to a ring store to look at engagement rings!
I started my first semester of my Clinical Lab Science Major. I quickly learned that this would be the most intense program I’ve ever experienced, and I would have mental breakdowns every Thursday before our exams.
Kyle and I got engaged September 24, 2011 at Sundance (where we met). It was such a fun and beautiful Fall evening in the mountains!
Kyle and I continued to work hard in school, spend every second we could with each other, and plan our wedding! It was an extremely hard and extremely fun semester!
Kyle and I got married December 20, 2011 in the Las Vegas LDS temple. We had our closest family and friends there with us to celebrate! We also got married on my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!

2012- 23 years old

We started our newlywed life and another semester at BYU. We lived in a tiny, 1 bed basement apartment and loved being able to spend so much time together.
Kyle and I started one of our last semesters at BYU together. I started my second semester of the med tech program, and Kyle continues with his major classes.
We spent a lot of time playing in the Utah snow together!
We joined our first married ward and became primary teachers.
I graduated BYU in April of 2012. I still had one more small semester to go + a 6 month internship.
During the spring, my wisdom teeth erupted and I was in more pain than I’ve ever been in. I ended up having to get my wisdom teeth removed a week later.
I started my MLS internship in June! I started in a hematology rotation at Riverton hospital, and continued to rotate through all the lab departments during that 6 months. I worked at Riverton hospital, Central lab in Murray, and LDS hospital in Salt Lake City.
I continued to work hard in my internship and take test after test! I also studied very hard for my national exam that I was due to take at the end of the year.
I turned 23 years old in November and we celebrated by going to Tucano’s!
My family came to Utah for Thanksgiving that year, and we spent a lot of time with family and hanging out in Provo.
In December of 2012, I took and passed my national board exams and got my first job as a Medical Laboratory Scientist! I started working at IMC hospital in Murray in the Blood Bank.
Kyle and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary that December and went out to eat/painted a plate at artful potter for our date night.

2013- 24 years old

After finishing training for Blood Bank, I started my first job at IMC! I quickly got started working traumas, doing complicated blood workups, and I met the nicest people at that hospital. It was such a cool hospital to start at!
In March, Kyle and I found out we were pregnant with our first baby! I was so excited, scared, and sad I couldn’t eat sushi anymore.
I continued to work in a trauma 1 blood bank, and quickly got thrown into life as a med tech! I loved every second of it and I loved where I worked!
We found out in the spring that we were going to have a baby boy!! We were overjoyed!
Kyle graduated from BYU and we decided to move out of Provo! We found a nice apartment in Eagle Mountain, UT and made the journey there! Kyle worked for Apple right out of school and I continued to work in the Blood Bank.
We spend our summer going to Farmer’s Markets, enjoying the mountains, working, and preparing for our sweet baby! We had a baby shower to celebrate him and loved getting ready for his arrival!
Fall finally came and we were getting closer to having our sweet boy! We finished our nursery, kept working and enjoyed the last little bit of time as a family of 2 together.
Everett Mark Richardson was born on October 29, 2013 and was a healthy, happy baby boy! We were so overjoyed to have him in our lives! We also were thrown into parenthood and all the exhaustion that brought! But we loved every second of it!
After having Everett, we decided we were going to move to Texas to have Kyle start getting prepared for grad school and to be closer to family. So when Everett was 6 weeks old, we packed up our home and moved all the way to Plano!
We spent Everett’s first Christmas in Plano, TX living at Kyle’s parents house. It was a fun time filled with family, yummy food, and looking for our first Texas apartment!

2014- 25 years old

We started out 2014 looking for jobs and for a new apartment while we hung out at Kyle’s parents house in Plano. I quickly found an awesome job at Baylor University Medical Center in the blood bank and got right to work there! That blood bank was even bigger than IMC and I started learning a ton about what they did! Kyle got hired at Apple as an at-home adviser and worked from home (which was nice!)
We started working and juggling our sweet little boy! It was hard but we were determined to make a good life for us in Texas!
We found our first apartment right in Plano and close to family! It was a town home that, looking back, what pretty ghetto, but we made it our home and raised our sweet baby boy there!
Dressing Dallas was born! I wanted a creative outlet as something fun for me to do outside of working and being a mom. It’s been a fun journey so far and I’ve loved every second of it!
We made a ton of friends in Plano and had a lot of little kid friends for Everett! We loved hanging out with them and getting to know them!
We went to the Texas State Fair for the first time! We ate yummy food and walked around to see the sites! We had a great time being true Texans!
We got to go to the Final 4 which was held in Dallas! Kentucky was playing and it was epic to be able to attend! We lost in the championship game unfortunately, but we still had a great time!
We got to go to Kentucky for my sister Kathryn’s baptism! We got to see the fall leaves, enjoy family, eat yummy food, and celebrate her!
2014 I battled postpartum depression for a good 6 months. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I wasn’t feeling like myself. It took medication and therapy to help me find myself again and learn to love motherhood. PPD is scary and many times I thought I wouldn’t ever feel normal again. But I made it through and I’m always thankful for my support system that helped me.
We spent many days enjoying local parks, restaurants, and malls while we explored our new home in Texas. I quickly fell in love with the state and loved the friends we were making!
At the end of 2014, we celebrated Everett’s 1st birthday, my 25th birthday, and our 3rd wedding anniversary!

2015- 26 years old

We started out the year celebrating in Plano, continuing to work and enjoy our little family! We were active at church and with friends!
I continued to work on posting to my blog this year, and I got to work with some exciting brands! I continued to grow and love the blogging world, while meeting other bloggers in the area!
We decided to move into Kyle’s parent’s house again in the middle of the year, so we could save on rent and save to buy our first home. It was a hard decision (because all of us are really independent) but it was a great move for us because we were close to family and we were able to pay off debt and save for our future home!
My brother Michael came home from his mission that summer and we ventured to Kentucky to see him! We all were finally together as a family for the first time in 6 years! We enjoyed each other’s company and had a great time welcoming him home!
That summer I found out I was pregnant again, but I had a miscarriage quickly after finding out. This was devastating to me and I had a really hard time with it. You can read more about my experience here.
Thankfully, and quiet frankly a miracle, I was able to get pregnant quickly after having a miscarriage. I was told it could take 6 months to get pregnant again, so it was so joyous that we were able to get pregnant so soon after. That pregnancy stuck and we quickly were growing our family!
That Fall we also got to visit Nashville for the first time! It was such a fun city to visit and we loved the vibes it had! We love the south!
We also visited Hall’s Pumpkin Patch for the first time and quickly grew to love it! It was such a fun place to play, and Everett loved it too!
At the end of the year, we received tragic news that my brother, Jonathan, had taken his own life. He had suffered from Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia for a long time, and it ended his life. We were devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our brother, and we attended his funeral right before Christmas that year. Even in the heartbreak of it all, we were still able to feel the love of our family and of the Savior when we were all together. You can read more about that experience here.

2016- 27 years old

We started out 2016 with finding out we were going to add a sweet little girl to our family! We couldn’t wait until May!
We continued to work hard at saving for our home, working, hanging out with friends, and going to OB appointments. It was an exciting and stressful time! But we loved every second of it!
We worked with an awesome realtor and decided we were going to venture out of Plano and into the Fort Worth area. After months and months of searching for a home (we put in 6 offers!!) we finally got our offer accepted and it was our top choice! It was the perfect home for us! We were set to close when I was 37 weeks pregnant…so just in time!
We worked hard at packing up our lives, continuing to work, getting Everett settled and getting acclaimed with our new side of town in Fort Worth, TX! We slowly started moving things over there as we prepared for our big move and for our baby!
We closed on our FIRST HOME on May 6th, 2016!
Later that same night, we found out that my little sister Kathryn had a major asthma attack which stopped her breathing and her heart. She was rushed to the ER and then to the ICU. They got her heart started again, so it was just a matter of time until we knew if she had any brain damage.
Kathryn fought harder than she ever did in the ICU, and we had people around the world praying for her recovery. I was unable to travel to be with her being so pregnant, so the best I could do was pray and hope harder than I ever had in my life.
On May 13th, my 9 year old sister Kathryn passed away after discovering that there was too much damage to her body from her asthma attack. I was unable to go to Kentucky to say goodbye to her, so I had to over a Facetime call with my family. I was 38 weeks pregnant when she passed. You can read about my experience here.
We had a lot to process in a short amount of time during this period of our lives. The day after Kathryn passed away, we had our big move into our new home. We received a lot of help from friends and family to make this happen, because they knew we needed to be lifted up. We got all our belongings into our new home just in time for baby, but we continued to live in Plano until I gave birth.
My doctor decided it would be a good idea to induce me early since I was measuring very big. They were afraid our baby would be too big at the time of birth, resulting in an emergency C section. So we set up the early appointment and waited.
On May 19th, 2016 we went into the hospital for my induction, and 8 hours later, Virginia was born! She was a beautiful bundle of joy, and exactly what we needed during that time! She is such a blessing and we love her!
After being discharged from the hospital, we headed right to our new home in Fort Worth, TX! It was chaotic, our home was full of boxes, but we made it happen. We were just excited to be a family of 4 and starting a new life in Fort Worth.
We slowly got unpacked, walls painted, and we were starting to feel as normal as we could. My parents and sister Elizabeth were able to come visit us in our new home and help us set up. We all needed the break from tragedy, so it was nice to be together!
About a month later, I discovered my new favorite lipstick and I officially joined Senegence International. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was excited to start a new business and to get discounts on my new addiction!
My little brother Michael got married to Emma in Utah! We weren’t able to attend but we were so excited for them and their new lives they were starting together!
We blessed our sweet baby Virginia at the end of summer with both sides of the family there!
I continued to work really hard at Senegence while climbing the ranks! I also got to travel to Leader’s conference and meet a ton of new friends!
We made new friends in Fort Worth and got situated at church. We fell in love with where we lived, and we loved that there were cows right outside our neighborhood!
We traveled to Broken Bow, OK for Thanksgiving in the woods! It was a beautiful cabin and a lot of fun!
We spent some time in Kentucky right before Christmas time to take out Jonathan’s endowments for him in the temple. It was a sweet time to be with family!
We ended the year celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, my 27th birthday, and Everett’s 3rd birthday!

2017- 28 years old

I did a lot of traveling with Senegence at the beginning of 2017!! I got to go to Orange County, CA for an MUA training, CA again for a leaders retreat, San Antonio for a training, and Tulsa for our Seminar training! I was busy and missing my family as I travelled, but I loved being able to grow as an entrepreneur! I also received a lot of awards and had a great time!
We were able to travel to Gulf Shores, AL for the first time for a Richardson family vacation! We had a ton of fun at the beach and enjoyed the sun with cousins, aunts, and uncles! It’s now one of our favorite vacation spots!
Our kids continued to grow up! We celebrated Virginia’s 1st birthday in Alabama and we had a ton of fun celebrating her!
Everett started preschool this year!! He LOVED school and was so excited to go every week! He got to socialize and make new friends, all while learning letters and numbers.
Kyle continued to work for Apple and I worked PRN at a local hospital on the weekends. We loved what we did and we love supporting our family!
I got to travel to Tulsa, OK again for a Leadership conference. I love learning and spending time with my friends!
I officially hit Crown Princess with Senegence in November! This was a huge accomplishment for me because my team did 1 million dollars in sales within 8 months! I was an official leader of Senegence and I was so excited to share that with my team!
We adopted our amazing Rottweiler puppy Tucker! We found him at a shelter near our home and we fell in love with him instantly! He is such a good dog and our kids love him (even though he chewed up all of our backyard furniture when we got him haha!)
We spent Christmas in Texas with family and enjoyed being home for the holidays. We also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary together!

2018- 29 years old

Kyle and I started out 2018 by going to Costa Rica together on a Senegence trip! We had SO MUCH FUN hanging out with friends, seeing the beautiful country, ziplining, dancing and more!
I got to travel to CA again for another MUA training! This time I was a trained makeup artist with Senegence so I got to help teach! It was a ton of fun!
I also got to travel back to CA for a leadership cruise! We went to Mexico, Santa Barbara and LA! We had a ton of fun!
I was officially “crowned” a CP with Senegence in April! I got my official crown, ring, sash and was recognized on stage! It was an epic moment!
Virginia turned 2 years old! She was growing up so fast and was starting to play and have fun with her brother!
Everett finished his first year of preschool! He loved every moment and he couldn’t wait to go back!
We headed back to Gulf Shores, AL for another beach trip with the Richardson’s! We got to stay in a big beach house with our own pier and pool! It was a ton of fun and we always love spending time there!
After Gulf Shores, we headed to California to celebrate my brother Christian getting married to Katie! We had a ton of fun in Newport Beach with the Moody side, and we even got to go to Disneyland! I also got to go to Balboa and get some yummy frozen bananas!
At the end of summer, I got to take Everett to Disney World on another Senegence trip! We had a ton of fun riding rides, eating yummy food, swimming and more! We got to bond and have a great time!
Everett started his second year of preschool at the end of August! He was with the same teacher and was excited to get to go to more days during the week!
I traveled back to Tulsa for a leadership conference in October! While I was there I got to see Bruno Mars in concert! It was an amazing night and I had so much fun!
I got pregnant in October of this year, but suffered another miscarriage. I was devastated but knew that I would be able to be blessed to be pregnant again someday.
Everett turned 5 years old this year!! It was so crazy to see him turn 5 and to watch him grow up so much!! He was loving life and having a ton of fun with his friends, family and sister!
We ended the year heading to Kentucky for the Christmas season. We spent time going to the farm, shopping, hanging out at home and celebrating Christ. We love our Kentucky trips!

2019- 30 years old

I started out the year heading to CA again for another makeup training! I had a ton of fun meeting new friends, doing makeup, and teaching makeup!
We went back to Kentucky in March to celebrate my little sister Elizabeth getting baptized! We got to see my Grandpa and hang out with family that week! It was a ton of fun!
I headed back to Tulsa for our annual Seminar training conference! This year was special because I got chosen to be a trainer during the 20th anniversary conference! This was a big fear of mine, but I conquered it and I felt so proud!
I also got to see a private Gwen Stefani concert during Seminar! It was epic and so much fun!
Right after seminar, I found out I was pregnant!! I was shocked and so excited!! We were going to add another baby to the family!
A couple weeks later, I headed back to my home town of Las Vegas for a network marketing conference! I loved seeing my city and getting to learn!
Virginia turned 3 years old this May! We love our spunky, sassy little girl!
Everett graduated from preschool at the end of the school year! He was officially moving onto Kindergarten in the Fall!
Over the summer we did a lot of pool time, park time, and movie nights. We also loved to take evening walks as a family with Tucker!
Kyle started online school to be a software engineer! He loves what he is learning and can’t wait to graduate and start working in a new field.
I continued to work in the hospital, run my businesses, try and survive morning sickness, and run around with our sweet kids!
We traveled back to Utah for the first time in 6 years to celebrate Heather and Dougs wedding! We had a great week there visiting family, celebrating the wedding couple, and eating some of our favorite food favorites: J Dawgs and Zupas!
Everett officially started Kindergarten at the end of summer, and Virginia started her first year of preschool! Both kids loved being in school and learning about different subjects.
We officially found out that we are having another little girl!!! I was in SHOCK because I was convinced it was going to be a boy! Regardless, we were SO excited and ready to meet her!
I got to travel twice to Tulsa in the Fall, once for a leadership retreat, and another for a Leadership conference! Both trips were ultra fun and I learned a ton about myself and about how to run a business.
As we near the end of the year, we have had fun celebrating Everett’s 6th birthday, Halloween, and preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas, our sweet baby girl’s birthday, and our 8th wedding anniversary!

So now, I am officially in a new decade of my life, and I’m excited to start it! As I got closer and closer to my 30’s, I realized that I was letting go of things that were hurting me in the long run. I realized I stopped caring about what other’s thought of me, and I was content doing my own thing no matter what people thought. I also found myself being a little more brave and putting myself out there more than I ever had. I was beginning to be more proud of the woman I was becoming, which felt great!

In my 30’s I look forward to continuing to grow as a mom, wife, and as a powerful woman. I am excited to keep growing and developing my skills as an entrepreneur all while I raise my sweet kids and enjoy them growing up! I decided to choose a word to describe my 30’s and what I want to be like, and I chose the word “fearless”! I’m tired of fear stopping me from reaching my true potential, and it stops in my 30’s! I’m excited for the changes and life ahead, and I’m looking forward to each and every good day and bad. Cheers to growing older, wiser, and a little more mature!