great hugs

the beginning of november is always a time for reflection for me. 

the year is almost over and i seriously sit and reflect at all of the annual goals i didn't ever get to.

i also try and make a mental note of my "grateful fors" and make a list. 

sunday in relief society, the teacher handed around ten slips of paper. 

each had a question on it asking us something we were grateful for in different situations. 

i got the question: what experience are you thankful for this week and why? 

saturday i worked my first birthday party at the trampoline park 

{one of my two brand new jobs} 

and i had no idea what i was doing even though it had been explained to me a couple of times.

i didn't let it on that i was new and had never done this before 

until the birthday party was almost over. 

the party mom looked at me and said, "you're doing great. I had no idea." 

my coworkers had been assuring me all day that i was doing great,

but to hear it from a perfect stranger was the comfort i needed. 

with all this new stuff, i am really missing the old stuff. 

i'm really, really missing my bar t-5 friends 

and the people that i interacted with while in jackson.

 the job was comfortable and the people are and were amazing. 

i see all of my friends going about school and work, 

and i wish i was there to see them in person more often.

on halloween, we all went back to the summer and went cowboy.

i feel like almost all of us posted a picture of ourselves,

dressed up in perfect cowboy outfits. 

i miss it so much, but i know that with all good things, 

they come to an end. 

i miss the stable hours and the fact that i knew 

how much was going to be on the next paycheck.

{salary has its perks and downsides}

 i could hang out with people my age 

simply by walking out of the bedroom door

 and it was always an environment i felt safe interacting in. 

never any raunchy situations. 

i miss cuddling on the couch watching a movie and
just sitting next to a great friend with his arm around me.
i also miss seth's hugs.
he always knew exactly when you needed a great hug.

but then again, i know that jackson is now a part of me 

and i will be back again. soon.

the friends i made this summer are forever. 

even if some of us are thousands of miles apart from each other. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

goal update:

1. focusing on setting aside time to do it, 

in the evenings before i sit down to watch tv. 

2. one more interview tomorrow and then my papers will be submitted!

3. tomorrow i don't work in the afternoon, so i can get the help i need 

from mom to get the back pieced together. 

and then off to the quilter it can go!

4. i will have my shifts for next week by wednesday for my retail job 

and then i can set a time for next week! 

5. i am going through the hymns and playing the ones i have heard before 

to try and get a feel for how they are played. 

i have an easier time playing something i have heard before,

 so i am going through and playing the right hand 

and then adding the left hand in. i'm getting better! 

where does the time go?

seriously, i feel like the summer still has months left in it. instead, there are just three short weeks between me and the beginning of a semester that i won't be participating in. maybe that's why i'm so lost. summer blends straight into fall for me, so there is no clear deadline for fun in the near future. my summer break extends clear into the fall break for my siblings.

so, where has the time gone? we made a weekend out of a stay in Grace, Idaho {aka the perfect small farming community.} i personally had a blast! we drove down friday night after show a few weeks ago and slept all over Momma Brady's house and lawn. we woke up the next morning to Momma Brady's delicious breakfast burritos and the discussion about some mexican salsa/pico de gallo. most of us spent the day wandering around Logan. i had some errands to run, so i went and saw Grandma Allen while i was there {but mostly to go shopping at Casa de la Grandma.}

once most of us were back from Logan, we helped Momma Brady with some outside chores as payback. because 20 hands make much lighter work than the two she was working with. ;) after the ground was good enough that she could lay seed, we went and did the only fun things to do in Grace: flooming and jumping at 60. what is that, you may ask? flooming is dangerously riding down the canal water down a floom {picture a slide suspended 200 feet above the river, and you have enough of an idea to get it} and then skipping across rotting boards laid along the top of the floom. jumping from 60 is about what it sounds like: jumping from a rock that extends over a spot in the river that is 60 feet deep. it was high enough, i probably could have attempted to tuck and roll, but i didn't get up the nerve to. a perfect summer bar-b-que and a sketchy game of kick the can later, we played a Bourne movie outside. one of those picturesque summer days full of dumb things you will probably never forget.

update on the love life: still sucks. Great Cuddler's missionary came home and i've been trying with futility to try and play it off cool. one of the girl's that i work with and Great Cuddler had a little stint, but they both agreed that it wasn't going to work and he apologized for dating someone after promising me that he wasn't going to date anyone because of the aforementioned missionary. a few weeks later, i get another cowboy to cuddle with. let's call him Cuddle Slut. he admits to it, so i don't feel bad about calling him one. Cuddle Slut is fantastic at the cuddle game. so good that i fell asleep in his arms for a solid week straight. no judgement needed. it was fantastic and i loved it. but then he stopped and we haven't cuddle since. so, please no judgement.

i got to ride a horse! and best thing about it: i got to do it for free! the resident Buckskin and i went on our day off and it was great. besides the saddle soreness that i had for the next three days. the views were amazing and the horse i had was pretty good. he seemed to really like the vegetation, but what horse doesn't?! let me just say, A-OK Corrals is the place to call up for a horseback-ride in Jackson. #shamelessplug

o yeah, and then this thing called a birthday happened. it's crazy, you wait all summer for one day to come, and then when that day comes, you can hardly believe it. and then the rest of the summer feels like it's running through an hourglass. nineteen was officially the dumbest birthday ever. except for maybe the gifts: birthday breakfast at Bubba's with Great Cuddler's cousin and Track Star {she's pretty much the best runner at ISU and is fantastic}, two new western shirts, a Jackson Hole t-shirt, a random collection of awesomeness from my friends, the most amazing orange Tennessee pants ever!, a "Home" t-shirt that my Momma made me and then a new belt for my new buckle! Momma Heather {the house cook} made me the most delicious Angel Food Cake with a strawberry glaze on it. i literally thought i was going to die of the perfection of it.

this past weekend was the Graves Family Reunion! this year, not at Lake Powell, but at Bear Lake. Grandma and Grandpa are on a mission, so we decided to do the reunion a little closer to them so that they could at least come up for the weekend. originally i was going to ask for the whole reunion off, but i decided to just take friday and saturday. friday i ended up spending as our "teenage outing" and driving around Ogden with Berkeley and Madeline and their EFY friend. it was different, but we had a lot of fun. Olive Garden, crazy selfies as we drove down the highway, and then a little bit of wasting time at Grandma and Grandpa's. i missed the sunny day at the beach, but we had a lot of fun. saturday we went up to Minnetoka Cave and hiked a 888-round trip stair cave route. 40 degrees constantly and up and down through the earth. i was originally nervous about hiking through a cave, but they have rock and metal stairs through the whole thing. we did end up spending a little bit of time on the beach, but unfortunately for me, it was in the evening on an overcast day. we played the cheeto-shaving cream-shower cap game with all the cousins and it ended up in a shaving cream-shoving fight. only a few people ended up with shaving cream in their eyes, but it was worth the little bit of pain. best fun that i have ever started with all the cousins. ;)




  

time.

what a weird four letter word. it holds so much power with it, too. 

it's bizarre to think that two years ago today, i was frantically finishing a presentation for the parents of governor's school participants. a year ago today, i was hanging out around the house, worrying about chores and packing for a road trip two weeks out. today, i'm worrying about getting the smoke out of the blankets i took camping last night and about getting a cowboy to pay enough attention to me to take me out. 

time. what a silly thing. my friends have their mission calls and are preparing for the fateful day when they will enter the MTC. other friends are fretting over the details of another fateful day: their wedding day. and yet others are worrying about getting all their summer vacation tucked into the next few weeks. then there's me, just worrying about my job, my crippled love life, and remembering people's names. 

time. it slips away from you. i can't believe that i haven't seen my sister in six weeks, my family in six months, some of my friends in over a year. it's just wrong. it makes me ache for the "good times" back. those careless summer nights when we played hide-and-go-seek in the backyard of nice neighbors. those crazy fall nights when i spent all night in a ridiculous costume, freezing my butt off, cheering for the football team. those awful spring nights where i was up until midnight or one am writing a paper. i'm gonna say it: i miss high school. don't get me wrong, there are something things i DON'T miss. but the simplicity of life sure was nice. i miss my laurel friends. the semi-adult life stinks, man.

i want the simplicity of life back. 

Summer Job 2k14

The most wonderful place ever. 

I'm working here for the summer and I love it. The atmosphere is fantastic and the people here love their jobs too. And I found a cute guy who seems to have the similar feelings for me. He's a good cuddle buddy and he found that secret ticklish spot and he likes to abuse its powers. But that's okay. I can get him to crumble because I know his ticklish spot. Muh-hahahahaha.

The summer has been great so far. I'm working for one of the beautiful local companies and I love it. The whole crew stays in the same house and it's a party always. If you want to do something, you've got three volunteers to go with you. I'm working at the office, but I still get to spend the time I want to around HORSES! I got to ride one early last week and it was amazing. I haven't ridden in a saddle, by myself in over 12 years. I rode a saddle-broke draft horse bareback a few years back, but that's a little bit different...
The horses that we work with are either 2000 lb behemoth draft horses or cute, "little" 1000 lb paint horses. I love it. My allergies don't, but ehh. A little Alavert and a nice bath afterwards and I'm totally fine!

One day after lunch, the majority of the crew decided that a back massage sounded amazing. I opted out on the account that I tended to make less than appropriate noises when I get a back massage unless I really think hard about not.

It started as a harmless pillow fight. Then, it escalated to a wrestling match wherein she ended up in the dirty, living room rug. Water got involved. And then the joke about "Round 3: Mud" was made and they took it seriously. He ended with a horse patty to the mouth/face and she ended up slam dunked into the dirt. They called it a draw.

I finally found some polish and took a few minutes (more like 30) to make them look beautiful. Yeah, then I got asked to poop scoop the next night and it's been downhill from there.

We had a crew game night at one of the boss's homes on Sunday and a few people ended up playing Twister. Then they moved to Swedish Twister (which doesn't require much, just some major flexibility). Then we played The Bucket Game. So. Much. Fun.
{The fun guy with the mustache is our resident Buckskin.
The one picking his noise is the cousin of Great Cuddler.
The dark-haired beauty is one of the cutest wranglers on staff.
The pretty blonde is my roommate and our wonderful housekeeper. }

There is a large group of crew members who will go out in the mornings before work and exercise.
Mentally insane, all of them.
But, one day this smaller subgroup decided to do some yoga and it was too much of an opportunity to pass up.

This is possibly the most popular view of the house: eyes shut. Even though my bedroom is right off the living room, I find it very difficult to make it to bed some nights. There are just a few couches that are too comfortable to move from. And then, add a good cuddler to the mix. Yeah, bad idea.
{This fellar is one of the main men on campus. He's kind of in charge of horses. Great guy. Not Great Cuddler.}

This cowgirl got a hat. This is one of the better outfits I have worn for show.

great news!

i have decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. i will work hard through this semester, the summer and just work next semester, in preparation to leave around Christmas of 2014. i will not be able to serve until the latter part of July, so i could but my papers in around the end of March, but i need to work through another semester in order to afford the opportunity to go on a mission.

just thought i should let you know. :)

moved out

so school starts in a month. crazy life. this summer has been almost been separated into two parts: Tennessee and Utah. it's been all sorts of crazy too. before i moved to Utah, it was all about catching up with people, making last minute plans, packing up my life, and patching up and saying good-bye to people I will probably never see again. [scary thoughts, no?] now that I have moved to Utah, my life has been all about finding a job, keeping up with the family plans and having some fun. don't get me wrong, Utah is amazing and I love being able to draw a circle two hours wide, and being able to hit five uncles and four aunts, two sets of grandparents, and countless other extended family members. it's great... but I miss home. I miss the baby and toddler sounds in church. YSA branches are quiet enough that even if you snicker, the guy across the chapel can hear you. i miss my family, and all of the crazy times that we had just sitting around the house. i miss being able to pick a movie from the DVD's or Blu-ray's and watch it a couple of times without the Internet being a problem, or it costing me a buck twenty to rent it. i miss all of my friends! i miss being able to go out and hang out with them. it would be amazing to have plans during the week besides "what does great grandma have for me to do today!?" (although that will change just a little bit due to my job!) i miss home. i miss all of my adult leaders/friends. I miss the missionaries, for crying out loud.

but life will get better once I get my feet on the ground. I found a job, at a local grocery store. I am currently a bagger, but will hopefully being learning the ropes of cashier here soon. I love it so far. It kind of stinks when your feet and knees and hips go numb from standing in pretty much the same position for eight hours, but I am hoping that a trip to the local Wal-Mart and a Dr. Scholl's will help that out.

church is interesting, because i am fresh meat in town and all of the men are off their missions, dating a girl, and/or are too old for me to fathom right now. I know that it won't be better once school starts, but hopefully there will be some more girls closer to my age when that happens. i want to get settled here, but right now the whole stake is combined into one meeting right now, so it's kind of hard to find new people. a lot of the people are just waiting for their housing contract to be up so that they can move into a new ward... rough life. it's kind of hard because I want to find people my age, but I know that's close to impossible because they are all serving the Lord. I hope that I don't go two years without going on a date. Ugh, that would be awful on all sorts of levels.

let me just say this. living with your great grandmother sounds like a great idea and a great opportunity to get to know her a little bit better. and let me tell you, it has been really cool to spend some time with her and talk to her about her earlier life. but sometimes it's just plain rough. at about nine o'clock every night, I am in my room watching a movie on Netflix or watching one I rented from Redbox. She doesn't have more than some granola, toast with peanut butter and honey, or a smoothie for breakfast and doesn't have the fixings for much else. She eats things WAAAYY past expired out of her food storage and eats vegetables like they are going out of style. Don't get me wrong, it's been interesting to see all of the different ways you can make a green salad, but the otherwise light main courses are a little rough to eat sometimes. I mean, she doesn't eat meat. Canned chicken, a little bacon, and some tuna is all I have seen her make/eat in the three weeks I have been here. Where's the BEEF!?

I love her, but seriously, the generation gap may be a little much on this one.

pinterest addictions

my life is a pinterest addiction. I have so many things pinned (over a thousand) and I have only really used it a little for actual real life problems/crafts/ideas.

this summer, I have decided to try and do what my friend has committed herself to do: do everything she has pinned on her boards. now, this is a lofty goal and there are some things that I can rule out (like my wedding and home based idea board) but I really want to actually use it. make some of those cute skirts, bags and such. actually read those books that I have pinned. build those cute outfits. check those items on my “to do list” off. I really need a buddy to do it with… any takers?

reminiscent day on the job

so yesterday i went to work at a neighborhood in the community. and i love that job; its so much fun! i get to interact with the kids that i lifeguard and its a lot more personable than my other job (that i don't love so much). but i was looking at the schedule that is in the office and it looked like it was going to be my last day working ever that summer. (but i got that fixed and i am working another shift later on in the month). and i thought to myself: what have i learned from this job and what memories will i take from it? and this is kind of the list that came to my head.

1. britt. one of the lifeguards that i probably spent the most time with working-wise. me and him it seems always worked together (either him or greg). and we had a lot of really fun and interesting conversations and experiences while we were working together. one of them being a really bad storm that quite literally ran right through our clean deck. we had completely closed for the night (in fact i got off the stand five minutes early because i could see the clouds rolling in) and britt had just finished washing the deck. all we had to do was close the shack and lock the front gate and we could leave. then the storm ripped through while we were locking up the shack. britt shut the door at the right time and saved us from the winds and rain that came raging through. the storms knocked down a tree, pushed our lost and found bucket into the pool as well as a few chairs and almost two 2-3 ton benches. later we found out that a deck of cards was put into the lost and found and had made it into the pool. all 52 cards split into 2 and greg got to peel the mushy parts out of the drains and off the bottom of the pool. thankfully the power surge that happened right before the storm clicked the pump off or we could have been in serious trouble. another time was when it had rained the night before and it was a little cloudy and not pleasant out still. me and britt were working together again, so we got into the pool and we had a good 30 minute conversation about what he was going to be studying that year in college and world war II and families, etc. we pretty much talked about a bunch of random things that all interconnected through one little tangent. all in all we had a lot of awesome conversations that i will forever remember. he just has a way of making the conversation hilarious even if we are talking about something as boring as like the weather haha britt always jokes around with me too. he jokes that after the evening shifts on fridays and saturdays that i go and take out my fake and go partying and live that party life of the scandalist teenager. haha its always a ball when hes around because he knows how to joke with you without making it inappropriate or going too far.

2. greg. he was the other guy i worked with like all the time (seriously i think i worked with someone else like 3 times). greg is this super carefree guy who loves to have a good time and a laugh. he probably weighs like 375 and is like 6 3 maybe. but i tell you, that is the burliest yet cuddliest dude you will ever encounter. he is scary when he wants you to listen but the next sentence will be full of laughs and jokes. he and his brothers are like a machine for inside jokes and funny punch lines from movies you have never even heard of. i had this kid come up to me one time and ask me "why does greg always say 'hey buddy' before he yells at me?" haha i just kind of stared at him and said, "i dont know, that is just gregs way of getting your attention if he doesn't know your name." the kid just looked at me and said, "but its sooo annoying! i hate those words now!" haha i just had to laugh at him and tell him to go ask greg if he was so concerned about it, but it made me realize that greg doesn't like to yell at people, he is more of the kid of person to laugh and have a good time even when he is having a bad day or when you are breaking a rule. he makes it fun and he was definitely the life of the party.

3. mrs. b is possibly the nicest manager anyone could ever have. she is like the best definition of a southern belle sometimes. she has few habits that i don't enjoy but she is one of those people that you just dont know unless you have seen it for yourselves. she is always so full of "hey sweetie"s and "how are you pumpkin"s that you never leave a conversation with her feeling like put down.

4. molly is a lot of fun. she is always so ready to laugh and have a fun time. she is super competitive so watch out! she had a really busy schedule with swim team so she couldnt always work, but she was so enthusiastic about it that you never would have known.

5. the kids! o my goodness!! one of my favorite parts was coming to the pool to work and having all of the kids come up to you and say "hi janelle! you havent worked in a while, are you working today?" they want you to get involved in the games that they play and they are really good about listening (most of the time) and doing what they have been asked to do. they are so sweet and just flock to you when you arent on the stand. i know a lot of the kids by name or can at least place them in families. one of the little kids, ethan, is my favorite though. he is a high functioning autistic boy but he sure loves to play in the pool. there isnt much you can do about telling him that he is breaking a rule because he doesnt listen to you. you kind of have to go up to him and talk to him face to face in a calm voice, or he doesn't understand what you are saying. but he sure in a cute kid. his sister, brother, mom and dad are such angels because they kind of hang over him just to make sure that he follows the rules and doesnt harm himself or other kids. he has gotten so much better over the summer its amazing. i guess its just from hanging out around the pool for the better part of the summer. and its really weird though, you watch the little kids grow up before your eyes. its reminiscent really.

but i love all of my coworkers and the staff party that we had a couple of weeks ago was soo much fun. we played volleyball with us and our siblings and then we played sharks and minos, then star (both games we are allowed to play while we are on duty :( ). i found out that during the volleyball game, that a lot of my coworkers are very competitive and have a lot of fun egging each other on.

i love my work and the people that i work with. its saddening to think that me and one other girl are the only ones that are in high school still, so most of the staff are all going away to college with a matter of a month or so. :(

rookie mistakes

so yesterday I worked my first evening shift at work. and we did everything we were supposed to do, except for one thing.

so we are supposed to take all the umbrellas down, take all the trash out, clean the deck and check the bathrooms. well one of the “unlisted” job duties is taking the lock out of the shack and putting the right keys behind the right locks and then locking the gate when you get done. well I kind of forgot to take out the key to the bathrooms and the lock that goes on the gate before I locked the shack. so we had to call mrs. b to ask her to come and unlock the bathrooms so we could get to the key to the shack so we could get the key to the gate, etc. out of the shack. (yeah we have a pretty high security pool, its legit). but ya after that I find of felt stupid hahaha because I am usually so good about not locking myself out or locking something behind a lock that I don’t know the code to, but it had been a LONG day lol

I guess now I know what NOT to forget

and then the other day I got a paycheck (MY FIRST ONE EVER!) yipeeee!!!! I am a rich woman. and now I have a savings and a checking account at a local bank hahahahahaha I am soooo pumped!! hahaha I would post a picture but I don’t have the check anymore in physical form (I already deposited it. hehehe, that makes me feel old to say). and then my debit card is coming in the mail too!!! now I feel super old and sophisticated hahaha

home remedies

did you know that rubbing alcohol takes away the sting of a sunburn? dad thinks the scientific reason is that it cools it, but I just am glad that it takes away the burn enough for me to be able to move my shoulders more than six inches.

I got my one really bad sunburn yesterday working. smart me forgot to reapply sunscreen. lol but I got what I deserve and I covered up for sure. but another one of the lifeguards where I work, got sun posioning. YIKES! (if you don’t know what sun poisioning is, its when you have an allergic reaction to the suns rays. apparently aspirin or something like clariten, will help…)

 

WHO KNEW!!!

summer jobs

so this summer is going to be it. I am finally going to get a job. and a neighborhood in my community said YES! we want you!! I am soo excited. my first job ever and its one of the easy, entry level jobs: lifeguard. of course I got told by another neighborhood that I could be an alternate, but that makes no promises. I have to turn in my papers for my neighborhood soon, but I got the job in the neighborhood that I actually know a couple of people in. I am sooo excited!!!!

legally licensed 2

so now I can say that I am legally licensed to save your life.

 

quite literally.

 

 

for the past four days, I have been taking this American Red Cross class to become a legally licensed lifeguard. tough work. and its pretty exhausting too. three and a half hours Thursday, four hours Friday, six and a half hours Saturday and then four hours Sunday. total that’s 18 hours. the course was supposed to be 31, but we only had 5 people in our class, so everything went by soo much quicker. thank goodness. but it was still brutal. :-\

needless to say i did little at my house besides sleep the past couple of days, but I learned how to do cpr, use an aed, and remove people from the water safely. regardless of whether or not they have a spinal injury or not. it was quite an interesting experience and I am thankful that I wont have to go through that for a little while, three years to be exact.

my class was soo much fun. we had a senior (she was just recertifying), a friend from church, a freshman (who didn’t want t0 the course in the first place), and then ONE boy. the freshman was the source of entertainment definitely. the boy was actually really cute and he is going to make a VERY good lifeguard. hahahaha *blush*

lifeguarding

so this summer im going to be a lifeguard. at least that’s the hopes.

first I had to pass a pretest. a simple 300, and then a timed simulation. sprint to the end of the pool, surface dive and retrieve a 3-lb weight. then swim on your back with both hands on the weight. as fast as possible. and for someone who hasn’t swam in about 6 months, that’s about 3-4 minutes. the 300 took like a half hour because it was a 150 freestyle and a 150 breast (my slowest stroke).

the next step is to go to a class this weekend (a total of 31 HOURS) and learn about how to save peoples lives. seeing how ive got my cpr certification most of the “saving” part should be a relative review. that’s the hopes anyways. me and a friend are doing it together so we can be alone together, so its going to be a blast. I really enjoy talking and doing things with her.

trek

youth conference is summer is a TREK!! for those of you that may not know what a trek is, it is a three to four day journey pulling a handcart about 4-5 miles everyday. by hand. in the middle of June. dressed as pioneers (aka those in the c. 1850’s).  near Pickett State Park.

for those of you, again, who don’t know what Pickett State Park is like, it is full of bugs and the humidity levels are atrocious. the dress is going to be exciting, but its also a lot of layering. in humidity. it definitely is going to be a challenge to keep hydrated. I hope we can bring a jug or something… because heat exhaustion really isn't on my list of things to learn about this year at youth conference.

but I am super excited about this trek. its going to be AWESOME!!! sleeping underneath the stars, acting like a Saint for a couple of days, spending time with some awesome people and of course strengthening my testimony. who wouldn’t love an experience like that?

summer plans smashed

this morning i took my turn at the orthodontist for the first time in a long time. the last time I had orthodontic work done was at our sing a long last month, but the last time I was actually in the office, has been at least four months or so. and the last time I had an x-ray was when I first went to the orthodontist. so its been about four years or so. my teeth do look so much better now that they are all pretty and straight thanks to Dr. Langford. but he delivered so not so pleasant news when we took an x-ray today.

 

I have to get my wisdom teeth out some time with summer. ugh…

bye bye a week of my life. I get to have all three of my wisdom teeth removed before I ruin my beautiful smile. I have always been skeptical about being put under. its scary not being coherent for moments of my precious life. the thought has just always scared me. but unfortunately its inevitable right now. im scared.

city meet and the rest of band camp and the temple trip

band camp day four... ugh

thursday was actually very productive. the band learned most of our first song, eleanor rigby. the guard actually had some work to apply to the show, so we had to actually do the work and try to keep the chart correct. more difficult than you would ever know. that is, unless you've been through high school band and have had to use coordinate sheets instead of a visual of the move. that night we were going through a move and the guard was doing partner work. as i leaned out into a lunge and was leaning with my flag away from my partner. as i stepped through out of the lunge, i slipped and fell on my knee. because i was sweaty and disgusting from spending 80% of the day outside, the blood from scraping my knee open was flowing down my leg and making it a lot worse than it actually was. one of the first aid moms hooked me up with a couple of band aids and some alcohol wipes and sent me on my merry way. perfect! (: i ended up sitting the rest of practice on the side line watching the band practice moving into a couple of the more difficult charts. nerve racking right? not quite actually. when i got home, i had to wash out the wound (excruciatingly painful for someone who had slit open the skin on her knee four times, and then ripped more in little spots) and put a band aid on it. i ended up sleeping with an ace bandage AND a knee brace on it just to keep the band aid on.

the next morning was city meet. urgh.

i had to wake up around 545 just so we could leave the house and get to down town on time. i was a little nervous about swimming with my knee, but swimming wasnt as painful as i had anticipated. after my team finished warm ups i went and got a lifeguard to tape me up as to keep the "sweating" and bleeding down. walking around like i had a knee split on was fun but it really didnt hinder me much swimming wise. i ended up swimming all freestyle upon request. i did alright, placing lower than i would have like to. but, i did win my heat in the 100 free!! yipee!!!!

the next morning i woke up again and went downtown for the meet, this time to be a coach. i helped with some of the new and younger kids, and one of the little girls i helped, decided to swim at this huge meet. by the smile on her face when she got out of the pool, i could just tell that she absolutely loved every moment of it. she did her best and was grinning from ear to ear. when i wasnt screaming my guts out for her, i was following Ben, the head coach, around reminding him to get times for the other swimmers. he did pretty well at keeping on top of that.

band camp week two was just as brutal as week one, but the heat index was way worse because we had a storm front closing in. the football team was practicing a lot of the time while we were, and we all laughed as they wimped out when the heat reached 95. haha what whiners. we were able to add the second song and most of the third one. thursday night we had a huge dance for all band camp attendees. we sure had fun partying it up and dancing. friday was the last day of band camp. the blessed day had come!! hallelujah we reviewed the flow of the show, and then we practiced marching to anchors aweigh. o what fun lol jk!

that afternoon we drove to nashville to participate in a church trip. to the temple! yeah!! my favorite time of the year!! the family all caravaned down and we watched some of the littler kids so their parents could go to a session. saturday morning we all went to the temple to do a couple sessions and have a huge picnic lunch. i helped my mom print off the pictures that another sister took of the kids in front of the temple. some of the pictures were sooo adorable (:

band camp days 1-3

okay so the exhaustion and awfulness of band camp has begun. unfortunately. the first day was okay but really hot. we went over marching and marching with flags and marching while spinning and backwards marching and marching in a block and making them together and a bunch of other basic stuff. monday we decided that we were going to invite one of the middle school guard members to make our numbers an equal 15. lol believe me it does equal to an even number when you take out the three captains. promise.

yesterday was day two and that was awful. we did basics again because the middle school guard member had never done marching before so that was interesting. i felt really bad for her though because she made it all the way through the hardest practice (the morning practice) and as we were walking the school for our break, she lost the snack she had had at break. i felt really awful for her. but thats the only instance the guard has had so far.

today was awful too because it was muggy and humid. we actually got some drill put on for the show and it was nice to know that we were going somewhere with the show (: the only really bad part about it was the fact that we as the guard were put into the show by the band director, which is considerate, but not actually a good thing. because of the work that leslie had written for the opening part of the show involved a lot of tossing, the spots that the director had placed us in werent really going to work. unfortunately. so we had to work that out with the director and get the charts figured out. and then it rained during the morning practice (hallelujah), so we had to go in and clean the few 16's of work we actually had done. tonight's practice should be interesting in seeing how the charts and the work actually fit in with the music and the bands placement.

birthday surprises

my birthday was a week ago and unfortunately it wasnt much of a birthday. my family did me and my sister the courtesy of letting us sleep in. and like not until 830. like LATE. it felt really good though because we had had two swim meets in the past week. urghhh my parents had to attend the temple that night, so we ended up babysitting on our birthday which is almost just as bad as not being able to get your birthday presents on your actual birthday. thats right yall. i didnt get my birthday presents until the day after my birthday. i ended up getting a badly needed watch; apples to apples (yes!); some piano music that i had been craving for forever- the phantom of the opera! o my gosh i am in love with the piano music and it sounds soo cool on our piano yeah!! (:  i havent had the chance to play apples to apples yet, but hey, i still have city meet to come. all in all it was a monumental birthday because i can finally get my permit! hallelujah!

le finale swim meet

last night we swam against Beaver Brook Country Club in our final meet of the season. the best part, besides the score, was that i got to miss guard for it. YES!

their pool is even more awkward than Cherokee Country Club's because Beaver Brook's is 30 yards, instead of 25 yards. HOW WEIRD! a couple of us girls did the math, and then poor 200 IM-ers were doing 40 extra yards than they were used to. the blocks were bad also. they were tiny width wise, and it was difficult to do a backstroke start because the hand hold was a good two feet from the water's edge.

so i technically swam a 60 yard freestyle, the 60 yard breaststroke in the 240 yard medley relay, the 60 yard backstroke, and the last leg in the 240 yard free relay. killer right? well the good thing i guess is that we won against them (: 356-330 VH! woo hoo! i think we did awesome given that we were very short on swimmers, and im glad we ended the season with a bang.

catch up post/ GIRLS CAMP!! =)/ YOUTH CONFERENCE!

i know that it has been a while since ive posted! sorry!! i just got back from youth conference and ive been running around town trying to get things ready.

highlights of the past three weeks...

the fourth of july parade and those practices

well umm that is pretty self explanatory. the first night was a little interesting, because i got to catch up with all my alumni friends and talk with them. the colorguard had to teach the lovely alumni and the freshman anchors aweigh which is always a joy. the work is really easy, but the frustrating part is the silks we use on the flag are wayyy longer than they should be so the weight distribution is off, like wayyy off. so it was a little harder for the new and returning girls to get the work flowing.

the parade went really well. i was standing on the edge of the block that we march in. this was a great responsibility because i was in charge of keeping the line straight and it was kind of scary because i had to watch my line up with the band and then the other two girls in my line and then worry about the work. i had a great time though. let me see if i can name the people i saw... sextons, the usual clan of family, and the pulvers. and then of course all my friends parents from the band.

GIRLS CAMP!! =)

o my goodness. this is my favorite time of the year and im soo thankful for the opportunity that i had to go this year to STAKE camp. a chronology and details about it lol

we had to wake up super early to get everything ready on tuesday and be at the church at 7:45 AM! as to pack up the trailer that was taking our stuff up to camp and leave the church by 8 am. we were at the Girl's Scout Camp by 9:30. the first day is always a blast because you get to catch up with friends from the previous years and get acquainted again. the YCL's did a skit about this year's theme: SUPERHERO'S! and of course, their leaders FAVORITE song: pants on the ground. it was quite epic. the girls in my age group were: Lisa, Alex, me, Rachel, Katherine, Kaitlyn, Kelsey, Amanda, Jessica, Ashlee, Allison, and Summer. we were all knew each other from last year, and so we were able to skip the awkward first day getting to know each other again. that day we played in the pool and played some games like ninja and tug of war, but the most prominent one is the camp favorite, LITTLE SALLY WALKER! i wasnt a party pooper, but i was really tired so i didnt really participate. that night we stayed up the latest because we were so excited to be there with each other even if we were exhausted from the heat and all the rigorous playing. HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: during certification, our YCLs, natalie, jessica, katie, and kristen, were showing my age group (consisting of 12 girls) how to start a fire without matches. one of the ways that Katie was showing us was using steel wool, pencil shavings and a 9 volt battery. u make a nest out of the steel wool, "insulate" the nest with pencil shavings, and then pulled out a battery. she wasnt sure if it was going to work or not, so she gently touched the battery on the steel wool and kaboom! instant fire. she kind of got scared and threw it and screamed, so the leaders freaked out, but she was stamping it out before anything ever happened and the leaders found anything out. it was great.

wednesday was the annual hike and it was a little bit of a disappointment because we kept having to stop for the elderly leaders to hurry up or take a break. we learned some pointless information about the animals that inhabit the area, but we had a lot of fun with snapshots. we got to go canoeing and paddle boating later that afternoon and we had a lot of fun playing around in the cove. wednesday was one of our leaders birthdays so her husband brought up a cake. a couple of the ycls decided that to do a cake eating contest and it was soo funny. it went a little AWOL and some of the girls ended up with cake in their hair. the leader's favorite game in Little Sally Walker, so we played it just for her. that night we also did skits and it was a lot of fun to see the creative juices of all us girls flow into a hilarious play. each year had the same lines, but everyone had a very different interpretation of what to do with those lines.

thursday was a lot of fun too we played around a little bit with some flour in a tissue and had a "flour war".  some of the girls applied first aid to our "injuried" bodies. lol it was a lot of fun to see the creative-ness as we had to become injured by a "tissue bomb". then we had an all out war and pretty much everybody ended up with flour in their hair and/or down their shirt. poor sara got it in her hair and she looked like a grandma. big smiles and everything. sooo adorable though. that night was the testimony meeting and the Spirit was so strong me and Hannah again spent the great part bawling. we ran over lights out, so we had to adjourn to our cabin. for the devotional, our leaders and ycls decided to do a testimony meeting for those girls who hadnt had the chance. the plan was to stay up all night, but everyone pretty much hit a brick wall around 3 or 4 AM... for me, it was around 230. i had a lot of fun playing cards and talking.

friday was the last day and we had the opportunity to give out awards and clean up after a great week at camp. i was awarded the momma bat award because i try to include everyone and get everyone excited, etc.

Swim Meet

my swim team had a swim meet against ccc this past week. i did the 200 METER im; the breast in the 200 METER medley with alyssa, lizzy, and kaitlyn; the 50 METER breast, and the 200 METER free relay with the same girls. we had a lot of fun, but unfortunately the fun didnt pay off. we didnt win, unfortunately we lost BIG time, 294-409.

 YOUTH CONFERENCE 2010 (yeah :) )

okay so a preface before i give you exciting details. my dad took me and my sister out for our birthday. while we were out, my sister got a call from an 801 number. i knew that immediately as a Utah number, so i was nervous for her. rachel answered, and come to find out, it was a member of the Young Men's General Board, Brother Egan. he wanted to ask her if she would participate in a short talk he would be giving sometime that weekend. so the lunch kind of turned into a congratulations lunch and a birthday lunch instead of just a birthday lunch.

this past weekend i was able to go to Youth Conference at close by college. thursday we had to check in and then we had a dance later that night. the dance was a lot of fun as most dances are. it was kind of awkward and hot seeing how there was a good 500 kids in a tiny gymnasium, but there was a lot of mingling, and a lot of laughter. a lot of the girls found their C.O.W.'s (crush of the weekend) and got up the courage to get numbers and a dance. i got to bed around 1230 AM and ended up sleeping in my dress i had worn because i was freezing.

friday was an early morning because a friend came and knocked on our door at 630 AM!! aah. not cool. i answered the door with a really retarded smile and then proceeded to crawl back into bed. breakfast that morning was a good biscuit, a crappy egg, and some crappy bacon. when they planned the camp they allowed us to have 2 hours for each meal, so we took our time getting there. that morning we did a service project of picking up some trash on our side of the campus, and writing our testimonies on cards to place in books of mormon. the group i was in was given the field next to the dorm i was staying in. unfortunately there wasnt a lot of trash, so the people in my group go the chance to talk. i met jordan, isaiah, and matt. you talk about some funny guys. matt has a nickname of chip bc he is apparently looked like a chipmunk when he was little. and isaiah looks like david archuleta, so matt and me started calling him david, which kind of got on his nerves i guess. i also had the chance to meet and talk to a set of guy twins that were visting their uncle here, thus resulting in them going to the conference, andrew and hamilton. they are really funny also and i could tell that a couple of my friends really did like the chance to talk to them. that night we had a formal dance and they gave us again about two hours to get ready. i can sadly say that i used all of those two and a half hours to get ready. in my defense, i helped five other girls in the process so it wasnt all spent on me. my friend emma and i gave two girls some styling and make up tips before we helped the other three finish their hair. i wore a white skirt with black accents with a green shirt and coincedentally, a friend wore the same outfit! aah soo cool. we meant to take a picture, but that never happened unfortunately. on our way over to the recreational center, we ran into President Elaine S. Dalton, the General Young Women's President. you talk about a real honor to talk to and introduce yourself to a General Authority. the dance that night was a lot more fun. i knew a lot more people, so it was easier to talk to and find guys to dance with. i had kind of developed a crush for this guy and i got the chance to dance with him a lot. hes a lot of fun to talk to. i danced with a lot of guys and had the oppurtunity to get to know A LOT more guys. lucky me i guess lol  President Dalton and Brother Egan gave our devotional that night about be strong and of a good courage which was the theme for the conference. after the dance, we all literally made it to the dorm rooms before we passed out and slept.

saturday was not so much an early morning because we were actually allowed to sleep in with out interruption. we had some workshops about different things and then had the oppurtunity to hear from President Dalton and Brother Egan again. this time about consequences for our actions. about picking up a stick and picking up the other end, like it or not. it was very cool and really interesting to interact with them. after the workshops we had lunch and had some time to pack up and chill out. then we had a very interesting testimony meeting. President Dalton, Brother Egan and Elder Cornish all bore their testimonies and then turned the time over to the youth to bare their testimonies. a lot of the testimonies were sweet and short, which is always good. i didnt end up bawling like i usually do until i bore my testimony, and thank goodness for that. i didnt want to look like a fool next people i barely knew. hahahaha

then the sad day came and we had to say goodbye. i got some more phone numbers to keep in touch with people and said the sad things of see you soon and thanks so much for the fun.