Open your eyes.

Last week, I was in Utah. And it was great!
I loved:
-that michelle was unexpectedly able to pick me up from the airport 
-staying up WAY too late talking and laughing (a lot!) with some great girls
-going to 7/11. twice
-wearing sweaters!!
-looking at the art in the hfac
-sitting on campus and not having to worry about classes or homework
-the leaves turning colors and falling on the sidewalks and roads
-sitting on the grass for hours with hannah and rubie, just talking and enjoying the weather
-getting a little sunburned from sitting outside
-making new friends
-having a best friend who loves to bake and making really good cupcakes with her
-DANCE PARTY
-bike rides (sorry for the cough, missy)
-laughing with michelle
-beef ragout..... without the beef
-visiting dr. s and getting some delicious apples from his garden
-going to the Provo temple with michelle and jenny
-looking at the moon
-taking pictures
-watching silverado... most of it. i still need to watch the rest of it!
-going to the JONSI concert! and being so happy i couldn't even cry
-making t-shrits for jonsi instead of buying them because they were 35 dollars!
-staying up way too late again talking and listening to jonsi for like four hours
-having a jonsi song stuck in my head constantly for at least the next 24 hours 
-laughing
-going to church but being so tired it was hard to concentrate
-(sort of) repeatedly telling everyone the same answers to the same questions about my mission
-bran muffins
-homegrown tomatoes
-going to my grandma's to help her out while my aunt was in the hospital
-being with my dear aunts and cousins and grandma for four days in marion
-the SNOW!!
-spending time with grandma before my mission
-helping them get ready for my aunt to come home from the hospital
-vanilla bean ice cream and sleepytime tea
-serving my grandma


it was a great trip. so great. thanks everyone. and here are some pictures for you viewing pleasure:

                                                                                                      by the way, i made that apron...

That should do it for now. The pictures of the concert need a post of their own. Sorry it's taking me so long, Rubie!

Down with modern medicine!

Under two weeks!! Bahh! can't believe it.

In other news, I got a flu shot today. My first one. ever. in my life. And don't worry, 

hopefully my last.

It hurt. And it made my body crazy! My arm swelled up! Noticeably. And I was achy and 

tired and I couldn't focus on questions people were asking me. It was not a pleasant experience. 

Thankfully, I'm feeling better, although I am having a really hard time spelling correctly right now.
thank goodness for spell check

As you know, this week is Halloween. I have mixed feelings about this holiday. I used to like it a lot, but then during my last few years of elementary school, I would wait until the night before to try and get a costume together, resulting in being a pirate a few years in a row...and a cheerleader... randomly. and i'm still embarrassed about that. Ever since then, I just can't get very excited about it. And I don't like masks and gross costumes. But I love handing out candy. And I love this video. 

I've watched it so many times! It makes me so so happy.

I love to see the temple...

I went there yesterday!

it was wonderful!

thanks everyone for all of the support. i love you!

Big changes.

Ok, I guess I always knew it was too good to be true. I was just so happy and excited about it! My sister and I in the same mission at the same time! It would have been awwwesome.

So. Here is the update. Julia is now going to the Maryland Baltimore mission! Which is so great. I have spent a whole summer in that area and absolutely LOVE it. It's so beautiful. And the mission home is in Elicott City! A beautiful little old town, that has a great candy shop. I am a little jealous because it is my aunt's and uncle's mission! So, they are bound to see each other at least once, maybe.

The other big change is that instead of leaving December 15th, she is now leaving November 10th! The same day as me! haha we just can't be separated I guess. That kind of stressed Julia out a little bit but then we decided she's pretty much the stage of readiness as me, so everything will be great!

We're speaking in church on Halloween!

So there you have it, now you are updated. You're welcome.

Good for the soul.

I went on a bike ride tonight. I rode really fast. Too fast; my sister told me to slow down. It felt really good. We received a lot of rain today so the night was very cool (75 degrees F). Speaking of rain, it really bothers me when people call it 'moisture.' Why can't they say rain? 'Moisture' is a gross word. It has negative connotations. Makes me think of sweat. Or bacteria growing somewhere it shouldn't. Ew. Just say rain. Please. It's a perfectly good word.

Also, my sister, Michelle, attended a rooftop concert last weekend where The Lower Lights performed. She loved it. And told me I would have loved it. I looked them up today, and she was right. I can only find four of their songs online and believe me, I have listened to them a lot. Sadly, when I just tried to purchase the album, something messed up and it wouldn't let me put in my credit card number... so I am stuck until I try again tomorrow and hopefully it works! I showed my mom a song and she used the word 'hokey' to describe them. I would say they have a pleasant twang. It's definitely not overly twangy or annoying. It's just wonderful. I like them.

In my little brother's English class, they have to choose a book each quarter to read and then at the end of the quarter, they write an in-class essay about the book they read. All of the books are from a college-prep list the teacher got and there are a lot of really good classics on it. When I was in the class, a couple of the books I read were A Tale of Two Cities and Jane Eyre. He chose To Kill a Mockingbird. The in-class essay was today, so of course, he didn't get the book until a week ago today (remember when I went to Bookman's with Julia at 9:30? the real reason was to get the book for Bryan). And, of course, he didn't really start reading it until Saturday. What ended up happening was my mom read it aloud to us children pretty much all day yesterday, in between sessions of General Conference and through the evening until we finally finished at 1:30 am. I love that book! And Harper Lee is one great writer. It's just so powerful and emotional. It makes me so mad that people really treat other people that way. I hate prejudices.
But I love Atticus. He is such a great parent and person in general. And I love that Gregory Peck plays him in the movie. I want to be like him (Atticus, not Gregory) when I grow up. And like Miss Maud. And Scout. She is hot headed and proud, but she is really smart. And she knows a lot about people. It's a great book. And I love reading books aloud. Michelle and I read aloud to each other when I lived in Utah. That was so great.

Ok, I need to go to bed. I am babysitting the niece and nephew in the early morning!

P.S.
1. I am really excited to meet Walt Disney in heaven.
2. I am never taking Excedrin again. ever.