Some Nauvoo blips. :)

I don't have much time to write right now, but here are some of the good times from the past few days.  :)  I've loved running into so many of these wonderful people I love!  This is Sister Heap, who always greeted me at our morning prayer meetings with her same wonderful hug and love.  It was like coming home to see her again, and in the Family Living Center of all places!!!  If I could bottle that Family Living Center scent and take it with me everywhere I go, I would.  :)

Now this is darling Sister Owens.  I found her tonight at the Rendezvous show, along with many other long-lost senior friends!  How I've missed them!!  Sister Owens was my seamstress when I first got to Nauvoo.  I have her to thank for many funny and wonderful memories.  :)

Elder Duke was one of the first senior Elders I met last year in Nauvoo, and I found him again today!  He and Sister Duke leave just next week, along with what I swear is half of Nauvoo.  It's quite the exodus for the Nauvoo mission next week; most everyone I talk to is leaving right about then!  I was so glad to find him there, though!  He is the kindest man I think I have ever met.  And so darn funny!  :)

I found my show dress!  Funny Sister Christensen has it for her Sunset dress.  :)  And I found Bingham's blue Sunset dress at the same time.  Anothe band sister is wearing my Sunset dress from last year as well - for her Sunset dress.  I just haven't taken a picture yet.  It's so odd, at first, to see my dress running around with me inside of it!  I sometimes hated those dresses at first...but oh, how I grew to love them!!

A few hours later, I found dear Sister Duke and Sister Hyland at the Visitor's Center front desk.  We chatted for almost an hour about life last summer and life now.  It might seem crazy to other people how close I feel to these senior missionaries, but they really became some of my closest friends during my time in Nauvoo last summer.  Age is relative in Nauvoo.  We all forget we're not the "same" age.  :)  (Except I rely fully upon any wisdom they have to give!  They're all so rich in life experiences!  I love it!)

Next, I found the first showing of the Anna Amanda preshow I could and soaked in time with those silly little puppets!  They were so great!  A side note for my YPMs last year:  They beat-boxed the Lion King song!  It was hilarious!!!  AND the English Lady's father did someserious bootie shakin' as he exited on his way to the "library."  Hahahah!  

Also.  I found my satellite dish bonnet!  HOW is that giant thing STILL in circulation?!?!?!  Lol!!  I thought I was going to die laughing when I first saw it.  But the greatest part is this:  It plays an even bigger part (hahah...bigger...get it?)  this year since this poor girl has to wear it 3 or 4 times in the show.  Whereas I?  Only during Riverboat's a Comin', thank you very much!!  :)

And last but certainly not least, since the Sunset stage has been moved to the old City of Joseph clearing just above the Visitor's Center, I haven't got any amazing actual sunset pictures yet, but this was the sky last night, and it was breathtaking!  Sunsets over the Mississippi are still coming though.  Don't you worry.  :)  That and much, much more!

My undying opinion of the phantom "guy" handbook. I want to destroy it.

DEEP BREATHS.  

@&*#^!*@&%$*&@!^#*&!@^#*&!%@*&#^*!@&

&@#^&!*@&^@*&@*!@#&^!*&@#*&!@#*!&@#!

@&#^!*@&^#*!&@^#*&!@^#*!@&^#!@*&#^!!!!!!

Really?  REALLY??  Really.  They all say the same things, and then, in deliberation, they all think they're the exception and should therefore be free and clear.  Yep.  Really.  I want to find the male instigator of this book, code of conduct, encoding device, or whatever it is and destroy him and it once and for all.  This is getting beyond ridiculous.  It's like getting a computer printout that should be different and even possibly exciting each time, but - - - huh.  Well that's odd...could I get a refund?  Oh.  No?  But...and we're back to the anger/irritation/frustration of the moment.

Please review the difference between being a guy and being a man.  If that search turns up fruitless, try asking a girl.  And try listening to her this time.  Thank you and goodnight. 

Ugh.  I'm sorry.  Typical response to a typical situation.  Getting over it....now.  :)

Focus, focus, focus...

In just about an hour, I will be leaving for the airport to go to Nauvoo! I'm so antsy I can't even focus. I came to work so I could get a lot of things done today, and I'm getting them done, but I swear the clocks aren't working because I stay away from them for an hour, and when I look, only four minutes have gone by. TELL ME HOW THAT HAPPENS! :) This has been an insane week...I had jury duty for three days, and the case was so sad and so terrible. It made me sad to sit there and have to listen to these terrible things and then have to make a decision that will change someone's life forever. Clearly, their actions are not my fault; so they brought the consequences upon themselves, but...I still feel marginally responsible. I did learn a lot, though. I was surprised at how almost...unprepared...the attorneys were. It was a little unsettling, actually. Maybe I've just watched a little too much CSI/Law & Order, but...no, this was almost appalling. And it was so hard to tell who was telling the truth and who was lying; who had no idea what was going on, and who was deliberately twisting reality for the sake of saving someone they loved. Seriously people! Can we all just choose the right for crying out loud?! I'd rather not write any specifics about the case...I could, I suppose...but I'd sort of like to pretend I don't know about it anymore. I pounded every detail into my brain when it was necessary, but now? Now I'd like to go on as if I know nothing about it. *sigh* Yet ANOTHER reason I'm so glad to be going to Nauvoo!! This has been an insanely busy summer, and then the trial these last few days...I'm unbelievably ready for a break!!!

On Parley Street...

Two of the finest people I know, Shane Steel, and Sadie James, got engaged in Nauvoo just a week ago today - on July 25th in the Blacksmith Shop on Parley Street. I wish there were words awesome and incredible enough to express my happiness for them! Anyone who knows either one of them will agree with me. I think fewer words are best here: I've never been a huge believer in fate or anything like that...maybe I was and just never knew it, but...spending one miraculous summer of my life with these two and seeing how this relationship has grown since then is something I feel privileged to have witnessed. I love you both, my friends!

WHY-OH-MING and camping...the eternal family vacation. :)

Summer seems to be the time for vacations...for most people, at least.  My family was no exception...except I'm not sure I can think of a single vacation we took that didn't involve camping at least once.  Even when we went to Disneyland, we went camping on the way back.  I know that because I remember my sister and I were little enough that it was still okay for us to have dolls.  And I remember we washed our doll clothes in the stream at the Bryce Canyon camp grounds.  Yep.  I wouldn't necessarily say we all love camping.  I would say my mom loves it.  The rest of us came to love it, or parts of it, over a long period of...years.  :)  But I actually love to camp...just...this time, there was a lot of DUSTY dirt.  I don't care about getting dirty.  I don't!  But this time...for some reason this time, it started to get to me after only a day.  What a pansy I've become!  But it was fun. 

We went camping up at Beaver Mountain campgrounds for a family reunion, and the best part was when my Grandpa brought out his "activity" for all of us to do.  He split us up into families, and then gave us each a pile of stuff from when he cleaned out his garage recently.  He then gave us very specific instructions on our project: to invent something from the pile of "junk" and to use as much duct tape as possible.  He gave us three rolls of duct tape.  Yes.  Three.  Well, we got right to it, and decided to make a family myth become a reality.  See..my dad always told us when we were little if we were ever misbehaving that he would be forced to bring the "spanking machine" out of the attic and boy, oh, boy...then we'd be sorry!!!  Lol.  I think it probably worked when we were really little, but after a few years, we all knew he'd been lying.  All that time!  We were upset, but not really shocked.  After all, he always told us HE was Santa Claus, so that's how Santa knew if we'd been naughty or nice.  Argh.  :)  Anyhow, we decided to make a real spanking machine from this pile of cast-aways.  :)  My little brother, Adam, decided he was going to be the "test subject" to test the effectiveness of our new invention.  He was hilarious!  Here's a picture of what he did to himself:

I happen to think he's one of the funniest kids to ever walk the face of the earth. Lol.  If you've read Calvin and Hobbes, you've met my little brother, Adam.  He's so darn funny!  

After a few days of camping, we piled everything in the big white van again and set out for Rock Springs, Wyoming.  Why, you ask?  Don't worry.  My brother, Ben, just moved there for school.  There's not much in Rock Springs to attract visitors, but I guess Ben is a good reason.  :)  It was fun to see him, and he seemed really excited to show us around...I'm so glad he loves where he is!  His cute girlfriend, Jessica (Jess) is the only one living in her apartment right now, so she put us all up for the night.  What a gem she is.  :)  Ben and Jess took us on a tour of campus the next day, and much to the younger children's delight, there happens to be a lot of dinosaur stuff on campus...that and an overwhelming amount of other forms of dead animals.  Lol.  But it was so fun to go around with everyone and the little kids.  They had a blast, and just watching them was ten times more fun than anything else I could have been doing that day.  :)  

A plethora of summertime fun

I've been terrible about blogging lately...again...haha.  But the crazy lifestyle of working in the efy office during the summer restricts my activities to...well...I don't see my family very much, so I spent the 4th of July with my family in Brigham City.  That was the first time I've been able to be there with them in about 5 years, so I enjoyed every single second of it.  :)  I got spend a little time with my Grandma and Grandpa Kelly (my mom's parents) that day when we all went over for a family barbecue.  Yummm.   :)  These are pictures of that weekend...lots of playing in the water, fireworks of all kinds, and just enjoying family and food.  :)  I guess it was a pretty chill holiday, but "chill" is exactly what I needed this year!

Out with the old, and in with the new!

I've had my little red Jetta for the past 6 years. Yep. That's right! My little rattletrap stuck in there with me for that long! Can you even believe it? My little '92 Jetta has seen better days, but I have it to thank for transportation through most of my college days. And for 7 months afterward. :) It will be returning to live with my family, from whence it came. (My mother has missed that little red sweetie.) I don't know why, but she seems to love that little car. I love it, too...just for different reasons. :) Here's why:

1. I quickly learned how to change tires. It seems every couple of weeks during the winter, especially, I would get a flat. I know there is more to cars than the tires, but...trust me...in my mind, tires and car are a package deal. Boys would pass me in the parking lot and offer to help, but then stop mid-sentence after seeing I was basically done. I won't lie by saying I never accepted their help. :) They just usually came around too late to make a difference. Kind of like life....lol. :) I always found that particularly significant...hehehe.
2. I became an expert at finding places to wedge a drink between the seats and the emergency brake. It was the only place that could possibly be called a drink holder. Except...there are drink holders in the back seat. TWO of them. I'll never understand the logic of not putting at least ONE in the front. C'mon, VW! German cars, of all models, should have a place to put a DRINK!! :)
3. If you look on the top of the roof of the car, you can still make out a phrase written by this guy I dated once upon a time. Not sure why he decided to write how funny I am on top of my car, but that thing stayed on through rain, snow, and ice. It is a little faded now, but that was two years ago, and I can still read it. "Sometimes I forget how funny you are." Well. Good thing he wrote it THERE so he'd always remember it! :)
4. I'll miss teaching everyone how to put that thing in reverse. "Push down, then put it in the direction of first gear...AH! You still have to push down!!! *sigh of relief* Okay. Good." Phew! :)
5. Summers are the best/worst. The A/C totally works...it's just...don't use it for a long period of time, especially on the freeway! One time of overheating on a major road was one too many for me. Summer freeway driving consists of all windows down, hair a mess, cd player up as high as it can go (just to hear the music at a normal level...that little car is noisy with the windows UP!) and you're still roasting. Except for the 1.5 minutes you can risk turning on the A/C, but only if you're not in stop and go traffic. Trust me. I've got this baby down. :)
6. No matter how many times I took it in to get the stupid hose connected to the antifreeze fixed, it STILL leaks antifreeze. I can't even think about how much money I paid to get that thing fixed; multiple times! Summertime is cheaper, at least, because I can use water. My checkbook always appreciated that part.
7. About 3 years ago, I had a huge container of change that spilled in the back seat. To this day, I still find pennies or nickels on the floor, under the seats. No matter how many times I've vacuumed or cleaned it, they still show up. I'm almost convinced the car feels bad for how much it takes to keep it running; so it's slowly producing the money. SLOWLY. :)
8. I think it has a soul. Almost like the Herby movies...remember those? Sometimes it gets angry and does things just to tick me off. Other times, I swear it understands I'm having a terrible day and couldn't handle if it broke down on me one more time...so even though it's struggling, it'll hold together until I pull in the driveway. Let's not forget the sense of humor it displays as a belt decides to suddenly let out a high-pitched squeal out of nowhere...usually as I'm passing by a huge group of people. (Especially if I know them.) Or how about that time at the stop light in Logan where everyone and their dog could hear my car for miles and miles around? Yes. I have gained much character from this little red gem of mine. :)
9. My friends always lie about how much they love it. Okay, I think some of them actually DO love that car...but only because it's funny; or because they've experienced a terrible car disaster with me while riding in it. (Cali, remember that time we drove all the way down to Ryan's play just after choir tour...and the flat tire on the freeway...with all my belongings on top of the spare in the trunk?) *AH* :) And I always knew your dad was laughing at me and my car every time I drove away. Lol.
10. I learned how to be kind to everyone who ever drove in my car with me. How, you ask? Oh, remember the part where no one can ever open the outside handles on that car except for me? There's a trick. If you're not nice to them, they'll break right off in your hand. I know this because it happened to me. TWICE. (Thank you, Cache Valley winters...) The back two couldn't be opened from the outside. Inside opening only. Try doing that from the front seat all the time. OH, yeah. :) But even the two front doors that can be opened from the outside are tricky. You have to grip 'em just right...and then gently open. None of this pulling the car door open without thinking, silly!
11. I tried to keep it at a nice ten, but I couldn't possibly leave out how the headlights don't work unless they're on the "brights" setting. Yes. Yes, and how the dashboard lights only work every 23rd Tuesday, and that's only if I went over a speed bump a little too quickly between the hours of 9:27 pm and 11:04 pm. Precisely.

Geez, after writing that, I wonder why I went and bought a new car! What was I even THINKING?!?!?! :) (Ahem. Okay, but seriously...I shudder to think about overcoming my commitment issues to make a monthly payment for something I've been enjoying for 6 years...) Well, maybe the two aren't EXACTLY the same. :)

I am now the proud owner of a silver, 2005 Ford Taurus that boasts not only working handles on all doors (inside AND out) but automatic locks! And automatic windows! I know, I know; I went a little crazy. OH. And did I mention the always working A/C? Or maybe the automatic mover thingy on the driver's seat? Uh-huh. AND. And. I have not one, but TWO cup holders...(wait for it...) in the FRONT seat!!!!! THIS IS MIND BOGGLING, folks!!! Do you people with nice cars out there even have any IDEA how awesome your lives have been?!?! I'm thankful for a little red Jetta who taught me how to love my car. :) Now, on to new adventures.