I am not the same...

California Dreamin' on such a winter's day.

2011-02-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

So the Packers just won the super bowl (on a 100" projector screen), and the football players and glee club tried to make nice by becoming zombies together. I am supposed to be working on a rough draft for my fictional story for writing. Instead I feel compelled to write about my weekend trip. I found a cheap plane ticket last month and after a quick phone call to make sure the weekend was a good one to visit, I decided to go. I boarded the plane just as it started to rain in Portland for the first time in a couple of weeks, and I felt like a lucky girl to be heading to the California sun.

David rolled up to terminal 7 and we headed straight to a place that I love to visit every time I'm here in LA - IN-N-OUT!!!!! Animal style fries, a cheeseburger and strawberry shake! LOVE IT!
Next stop: Santa Monica Pier.

Ferris Wheel!

Intense funnel cake with frozen yogurt and strawberries!

STARS!

We went up the road to the 3rd street promenade. I like it here too! We heard live music, and wandered through stores.

Saturday was a big day full of fun. Our first stop, as always, was Porto's Bakery. Here's a photo of the pina colada yumminess...

When David suggested going to Huntington Library, I pictured us wandering through rooms full of books and artwork. This place was unbelievable! There is a library, several buildings of art collections & botanical gardens!
I saw the Gutenberg Bible and an illustrated Canterbury Tales.

There was a festival going on to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit! Here are some photos from the Chinese Gardens...

We wandered a couple of hours longer than planned, but made it to the Griffith Observatory in time for sunset!

Our last adventure took us to the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood. Great food, THE BEST company and killer jazz. We listened to the Kenny Garrett Quartet. We loved it so much, we stayed for the 2nd show. The musicians were phenomenal!

Today we took it easy. I slept in and then headed to church. Then wings and super bowl. David is passed out on the couch. I am hoping to get one more trip to In-n-Out before I leave early tomorrow morning. Better wake him up...

Weekend Trip

2011-02-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I love road trips! I especially love them when they take me to visit friends. So on Jan 21st (after attending all my classes), I loaded up Yoshi with my furry purple blanket, a pillow, pretzels, red vines and string cheese and I was off to drive about 900 miles in all to spend the weekend in Boise.

The Boise Philharmonic presented "The Magic of Mozart" and I have to say I was impressed! The conductor, Robert Franz was great to watch. I found some conducting gestures that I need to rip off. He was very much into the music and entertaining for the audience. This season, they want the audience to get to know some of the musicians, so they had one of the cello players introduce the program and share a personal story. It was a great addition to the evening. And the concert was a highlight of the trip.

It was sunny and freezing. The Basque pub where we had lunch, put this sign in the window. I thought it was funny. We also saw some baskets that were made by using recycled VHS tape. All in all, a low key weekend with a good friend, good music and good times.

BLING! BLING!!

2010-11-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, I've been home for a couple of weeks now, but I did take a small break in October (in the middle of the term) to go to Las Vegas! There was a conference involved in all of this. I met up with my friend Tony and we got to play every night! I usually will splurge on ONE show on a trip to Vegas, but this time we got such good deals that we saw a show EVERY NIGHT we were there! It was AMAZING!!!!!

Thursday I arrived and took a taxi ride to the hotel where I got to freshen up before we went to see KA at the MGM Grand. We had such amazing seats and the show... WOW! They have this stage that rotates and even extends vertically. Cirque shows are famous for a reason. I have not been disappointed with any of them that I have seen. Tony is a Cirque FREAK! Of the 6 shows I've seen - 5 have been with him. I do believe it is his favorite activity in life :)

Friday we sat in the poncho section at Blue Man Group. Such an innovative and fun show. I feel like I learned a lot and I laughed a lot! Thankfully, no food flew our way, but the poncho kept me nice and warm. At the end of the show they have rolls and rolls of "toilet paper" that start at the back of the auditorium and everyone unrolls it and throws it forward until there is a huge pile on the stage. One of my favorite moments was when a couple of people walked in late - they stopped the ENTIRE show to focus a camera on the late-comers and sing a song about them. Once they found their seats, the show resumed. HA!

After the show we had a nice dinner at the Monte Carlo - I had fresh salmon! YUM! Then we left for a night at the Palms hotel. We splurged and bought VIP passes so we didn't have to stand in line and we got into all 5 clubs at the hotel. We made one go-round to see everything and then went back to our favorites. The Ghostbar is on the 52nd floor and they have a patio outside where we could cool off. They also have a cut out in the floor that has a clear acrylic - so you see all the way to the street. Trippy! We finished the evening at Rain where DJ Jazzy Jeff was spinning. YES!!!! THAT DJ JAZZY JEFF!!! He was GREAT! We danced til nearly 4am and I hurt for 2 days after :) Who's feeling old? That's right - ME!

CREEPY!

READY TO DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY!

Saturday brought us to the newest hotel on the strip. Aria! This is where Cirque's show Viva Elvis is showing. SO FUN! We enjoyed popcorn and Elvis tunes before we went to a fancy dinner at the Palazzo.

Sunday was our last day. We had some time in the afternoon to wander around the Bellagio! I love to see how they decorate the atrium. They had these cool, funky whimsical trees made from willow branches. We also enjoyed the art exhibit "A Survey of the Human Form". There were Renoir and Picasso and Degas! All genres and all periods of art. Very cool! We also wandered into some of the galleries and saw some pretty sweet sculptures. No trip to Vegas is complete without a stop at the Jean-Phillipe chocolate shop. We got some super delicious treats. I love having a friend who likes to try everything and is willing to share. We got an opera cake, raspberry tart, chocolate dipped strawberry and dulce de leche brioche. You may notice the severe lack of pictures at this point. I had forgotten to bring my camera on our adventure :( I remembered to take a couple of pics... but the memories are vivid without the documentation, right?!

Beatles Love was the last show of the trip. It would have been perfect - except that THOSE PEOPLE sat behind us! First - they spilled beer on us! And when I was wiping it off, I turned around and shot them a dirty look and said "SERIOUSLY!? NOT COOL!" They totally ignored me! And then they TALKED THROUGH THE ENTIRE SHOW! SooooooOOOoo Annoying! At one point Tony turned around and yelled "SHUT UP!" It didn't help. Thankfully they talked a little less loudly durning the quiet parts. I think my favorite scene was "Something". It was beautifully done! Even with THOSE PEOPLE behind us, I really enjoyed the show. At one pint there is a huge silk sheet that is thrown over most of the audience. We had seats in the balcony and it looked so amazing with all the lights. It would be cool to see the scene from under the silk to see how different the experience is.

That's it! The fun stuff of Vegas in a nutshell! You wouldn't think that 2 Mormon kids could have so much fun in Sin City, with no gambling, no drinking and no "hot babes direct to your door". But we did :)

Relaxation

2010-07-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Not much to report when you spend all your time at a 5 star resort with hot springs.

http://www.tabacon.com/

Q:What do a blind man, a nun and a box of live chickens have in common?

2010-07-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

A: They were all on our bus from San Jose!

As bored as we were in San Jose, we have LOVED our time in El Castillo! We took a local bus ($4!) from the city up to the Arenal volcano area. We heard the trip would take anything from 2 1/2 hours to 4 hours. It took a little over 5! This was due to a stopover in a little town after one of the bus tires blew out. I think it was the most excitement the town had seen in a long time.

Since our bus was late, we missed our shuttle to the hotel. It was a $25 - 30 min drive from La Fortuna to Essence Arenal in El Castillo. Our taxi driver, Jesus, was awesome! He made us practice our Spanish and he practiced his English. We were glad to spend some time with him! And our hotel is SO AMAZING! We have the most gorgeous view of the volcano and the lake (see photos above). After a little hike on the property, we soaked our feet in the pool and took in the view. It is a little slice o' heaven! The hotel is pretty far away from things, but they have a shuttle (an old white van whose sliding door takes at least 3 tries to close) and they are really accommodating. Isaac and Kelly kind of keep the shuttle and the kitchen running. They do a community dinner where we all help cook (if we want) and then we all eat together. Food really should be an event! Don't ya think? We have gotten to know everyone else that is staying here and we love it! Last night we had sushi. This morning brought banana french toast and tonight was Indian. I am still hanging out near the kitchen listening to the lingering dinner conversations.

Today is Kate's birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!!!!!! After our delicious french toast, we headed to the Arenal Observatory to spend the morning hiking to waterfalls and check out the volcano in an up close and personal way. Every time it erupted, we could see the rocks falling down the side of the mountain. We found a really cool waterfall and I spent some time in the pool at the base of the waterfall, basking in the power and the beauty. We also saw lots of hummingbirds and butterflies and even some monkeys!

After hiking, we headed to Tabacon. Kate's favorite place from her last visit here. It is a super posh and fancy resort that is built around the hot springs. It was the birthday splurge! We bought s day pass and then found out it was 2 days for one, so I think we are going to spend an extra day in this area, so we can go back to the hot springs tomorrow. We enjoyed delicious sea bass for lunch and then soaked for almost three hours in different pools. IT WAS DIVINE! I am very excited to go back tomorrow :)

We have met some really great people! I really do love traveling! I feel so close to the person I crave to be when I travel. I am not sure if I can pinpoint what it is that I love so much, but I read a great description from the book I am reading. This is from Elizabeth Gilbert's "eat pray love" --

"...to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been loyal and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby - I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to - I just don't care."

San Jose - Day 1

2010-06-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Man are we tired! We took a late flight to Denver which connected to an overnight flight to San Jose. I don't know if you know this - but there is a hurricane going on, so we flew around it - but it was bumpy! So the sleeping on the plane was minimal. We arrived in San Jose and got through immigration and customs to find that there was not a taxi from our hotel waiting for us. We were warned that the taxis will sometimes "not know" where your hotel is and take you to a different one, or charge more than they should. So our hotel commissions taxis, but it turns out they didn't get our email in time. These 2 guys asked us where we were going and quoted $25 for both of us. It was only a few dollars more than the hotel said it would be, and they were right there, so we took it. Thankfully, the funny drunk guy wasn't driving (no, it was the "Crazy Nicaraguan") :)

We found our hotel and woke up Fredrico (it was 630am), he got us checked in and we dropped off our bags and went hunting for food (HUNGRY!) Unfortunately, not much is open that early. Fortunately, there were some very attractive men walking around. We did find a little bakery and got some meat pies and took them to the park. The park has a little island with tables in the middle of a pond with fountains, so we had breakfast there. It was adorable and our tummys were a bit more satisfied, so we walked across a cute stone footbridge and found a spot of grass in the sun to take a short nap. It was lovely... until it was itchy. We headed back to the hostel to hang out until our room was ready. The next few hours are blurry for me, I fell asleep on the couch while watching the Biography channel (something about extra-terrestrials) and then I fell asleep on the bed in our room? Anyway, at about 2pm we were ready to explore the city! At 5 we were back in the hostel for the evening. True confession? We're kinda bored by San Jose.

We are staying in a part of the city that is close to everything that you would want to see. It is a short walk to the Central Market and museums and the National Theater. And we saw them all. We are a bit disappointed that there is not a concert at the theater. We settled for seeing the outside of it and the lobby. It is neo-classical and beautiful! Built by an Italian, the first production was Goethe's Faust in 1897. Currently, the National Symphonic Orchestra performs there.

Here is a pic -

Here are some statues on the inside --

And one from the outside -- Did you know that this year is the bicentennial celebration of Fryderyk Chopin's birth? Celebrate! And listen to Chopin!

We also saw pre-Columbian gold and some abstract art, and learned the history of currency in Costa Rica.

We weren't all that impressed by the Central Market (except for this pose of the street dancers - who were dancing with no music?).

That is, until we went off the beaten path to get our bus tickets for tomorrow's adventure. We ended up in a pretty sketchy part of the city... but we are safe and AWESOME! I ignored the guy who called me sweetheart and asked if we needed him to show us around. And the doorman who had to unlock and open the front door to the Best Western was really nice about telling us where we needed to go, only to find out that we have to go back at 7 tomorrow morning. And you can be sure that we are taking a taxi.

It is hot. I am sweaty. We are exhausted! And REALLY looking forward to getting out of the city and seeing the countryside. We are headed up to Arenal tomorrow and will spend a couple of days near the famous volcano. Oh, we did find time for a graffiti photo shoot!

COSTA RICA!!!!

2010-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hey all! This is D and I write this as I sit at the Portland Airport waiting to board a plane to Costa Rica!!! My friend Kate is looking for a magazine that she can only find at this specific airport so I thought I would take a few minutes.

I was so glad to hand over my passport today. Glad that I had it to hand over. I realized at 2 this morning that in all of my packing and moving, I had forgotten to set my passport aside! I tore apart my car, as the last time I used it, it was to see NKOTB in Vancouver Canada :) It was not there.

I realized that I had no idea where it was. This is not good, when I am supposed to fly out of the country in 16 hours! Honestly, I started praying. I immediately remembered where I put it! I love when that happens! So, it was in a box in another box in my storage unit. We left earlier than we originally talked about in order to allow time for looking through boxes. As I tore box after box open, I couldn't find it. Right when I was about to REALLY start panicking, I FOUND IT!!!!! A few minutes later, everything was back in the unit and we were on our way. So, as I handed it over to the attendant, I was relieved that I was not waving goodbye to Kate as she went on our adventure without me.

Nora brought us to the airport - THANKS NORA! We can't wait to debrief you over gorgonzola fries when we get back :)

At the beginning of another adventure! I am very excited to explore a new country with a great friend who loves to travel as much as I do. I think I am most looking forward to the zipline in the rainforest, and our splurge day at the Tabacon resort with the hot springs! I did the zipline in Mexico and LOVED IT! Kate is most looking forward to A LOT of relaxation - and monkeys("I like monkeys") She just finished her first year of teaching and I just finished my third year as a music education student. So relaxation is definately in order.

For those unfamiliar with Costa Rica, I included a picture. It is between Panama and Nicaragua. It is just at the beginning of their "green" season (read rainy). This does not have the same meaning there as it does here, by the way... It will be in the 70's and 80's with high humidity and a possible thunderstorm every day. We ARE coming back with tans!

WE LOVE TO TRAVEL! I am hoping to update this often with our amazing adventures :)

Santa Barbara

2009-09-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I was planning on taking the Coast Starlight train from Anaheim to Salinas for the last leg of my journey. My friend Kate got her first teaching job and I wanted to come see her new digs and go to Monterey and San Francisco too! The thing is, I waited too long to buy my train ticket and it was about the same price to rent a car, so that it precisly what I did. I decided to drive up Hwy 101. My dream is to drive all the way up 101 someday, and this is a partial fulfillment of my dream.

I took the train to LA and then a shuttle to LAX and then I was FINALLY able to pick up my car. A silvery-blue Kia. Not gonna buy one of those, but it was nice to drive a car with windows that roll down!

I stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch and a ahort visit. I parked at the Chamber (all parking costs $$) and walked to Stearns Wharf. While I was trying to figure out where to have lunch, I heard a woman talking about the water taxi. For $4 I could ride to the other side of the harbour. This was the place to eat, she tells me. So I jumped on the next taxi (called Li'l Toot). We passed yachts and boats galore. It was gorgeous! Our cute guide told us about some of the boats and their owners (like the CEO of Pepsi, and the Wrigley heiress). I then had the most delicious seafood chef salad while watching the boats bob in the water.

The water taxi lady told me about the electric shuttle. For 25 cents it would take me right by where I parked. Except that after I told him where I wanted to go, he thought I was gonna pull the signal that I didn't plan on pulling cause I was 1 of 2 people on the shuttle and I had already told him where I was going. So-- I saw more of the waterfront as we made the loop and it cost me another $2 in parking and 20 minutes later on the road. But really it isn't too bad. It was a gorgeous day!

I would really like to go back to Santa Barbara and see more of it. I have heard from a lot of people how great it is. And I really enjoyed my 2 hour layover there :)

One World, One Love, One Mouse

2009-09-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

I really do love Disneyland. I may not be a fanatic, but I enjoy being here. I've only met 2 grumpy people in the last 3 days. Everyone is so nice and they really seem genuine.

My favorite ride is the Toy Story ride in California Adventure.

A close second is the Hollywood Tower of Terror.

It's nice to have a bit of time to enjoy the parks, rather than rushing to get everything done in one day. On Monday, David and I joined Allyson, Linda and Elaine. Yesterday we took it easy in the morning then in the afternoon we met up with some of Allyson's cousins.

Splash Mountain was perfect in the 100 degree weather, we might not have made it without the cold water (That and the Dole Pineapple Whip).

There's also Grizzly River Run...

and Astro Blasters...

and trying on hats...

and the jungle cruise...

and Mr. Toad...

and the Mark Twain boat...

and Tarzan's Tree House...

and Autopia...

and The Matterhorn...

and posing with random characters...

All in all... it was a GREAT TIME!!!

Let me see that sushi roll!!!

2009-09-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

David and I have a tradition of sushi. Whenever we get together, we have to have a sushi party. So when I knew I was coming to LA, I begged to have one after church on Sunday. Chris Mann and other invited guests couldn't make it, so it was just me and 3 handsome men (sometimes life is so hard!). Jet and Kevin are from Taiwan and Jet had never made sushi before (Kevin's first sushi rolling was at our party last year). This time, David did all the shopping and I put the food and table together. I think I did pretty well…

When I opened the seafood, we had the usual crab, tuna, halibut and salmon. And then I saw the octopus. I didn’t want to mess with it (cause it's nasty), so I garnished with it. Once everyone was there, we had some miso soup and seasoned rice. Then we took turns making delicious sushi rolls. My favorite was crab with cream cheese, lemon and cucumber. Mmmmmmm…… yummy!

We showed Jet the ropes and then let him make one. BUT, we kinda started talking and not paying attention to what Jet was doing. Before we knew it, he had a megaroll going. He ended up cutting it into four pieces. I was the only one that ate it in four bites. The guys all did it in one!

When we’d had our fill, we ate some mochi (Japanese ice cream)and the guys enjoyed some plum wine. Overall, it was a great night for sushi with friends!!

I wish a falling star could fall forever...

2009-09-21T00:18:00.001-07:00

As the party in Baltimore didn’t end until nearly 2am, and I hadn’t packed yet, and I had to leave for the airport at 4am… I stayed up. With my silk eye mask (my favorite thing I own) in my carryon bag I was ready to snooze on the plane. And snooze I did-on both legs of my flight. This means that I never got my V8… so I got a blanket instead.

I was so glad that David was willing to host me for a couple of days before I head to Disneyland. He is WONDERFUL! I think the perfect host. He thinks of everything! He zoomed up in his snappy Mercedes and we immediately went to In n Out where I had my first cheeseburger in 4 months! I skipped on the shake as I didn’t want to overdo it :)

After a short nap and a quick shower, we headed off to THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL!!!!! Ever since I saw “Some Kind Of Wonderful” I have wanted to go there. When I saw that my favorite band was gonna be there, I arranged to be there too! David was in charge of tickets. We saw them several years ago in Cannon Beach at the Coaster Theater with 198 other people. China wove her magic spell over us then and I thought David was gonna have to change his shirt cause of the drool coming out of his mouth. Last night was no different (except there were nearly 16,000 people. 16,000!!). THEY WERE PHENOMENAL!!!!!!

We got a picnic to enjoy before the show. David brought me up to the top of the hill, like as far away from the stage as is possible. I asked if we were going to a picnic area, or if there was a place to eat at our seats. He informed me that we would just eat off our laps. I guess the look I gave him said “Uh. NO we aren’t” I noticed that someone was renting cushions for the hard benches and I sent a memo to myself to make David go get me one. At the top of the hill, our view was worth it. We could see the stage AND the Hollywood sign. So cool!

I asked him again if he knew where we were going. “Oh, yeah. I got this” he tells me. We get to the first set of ushers and they tell us “you guys are way at the front” David starts chuckling at his little joke… I couldn’t believe he made me walk all the way to the top of the hill!!

Each set of ushers we met kept telling us to go closer. We finally found our spot and it was PERFECT! David whipped out the white tablecloth and wine glasses and we had ourselves a nice little dinner.

It was the best beginning to one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. We were so close that I didn’t need my glasses. I am sure China could see David drooling over her, and Robert could see me making googly eyes at him. The show was superb. Although I just saw them in June, they played some songs I had never heard. They also had some GREAT special guests.

Here are some things I love about Pink Martini. Thomas is a theatrical classically trained pianist and I love to watch him! You can see that he loves his job. And he is so funny and sometimes awkward. China has a beautiful voice. She continually improves and hones her talent. Every single one of the musicians is EXCELLENT in their own right, and together they are DYNAMIC! They perform all across the world and cater to their worldwide audience. They have recently added a Turkish song to their repertoire. They find ways and songs to feature the talents of thier musicians and I love it!

I didn’t want the show to end. It eventually did (but not until the encore Brazil complete with guests and family on stage) and we made our way home. I totally fell asleep in the car. An exhausting and wonderful day!

The Queens of Cooksie

2009-09-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

My last day on the east coast was perfect. It is 5:30am and I’m sitting at the Baltimore airport, I haven't slept since I don't know when. I smell like smoke and my hair and makeup aren’t nearly as fabulous as they were 8 hours ago when I went out to play with the Queens of Cooksie, but I am taking some great memories with me.

For starters, the water taxi. The water taxi was our afternoon fun! There are 3 routes that take you all around the harbor for $9. Such great views of the city. We stopped at the East Harbor for lunch at James Joyce, an Irish pub. We did the water taxi loop and on our way home, some Red Sox fans (in town for the game) became our new bff's. They were there for the boys weekend and they were sauced! Such friendly and respectful drunks... and cute too!

After visiting with our new bff's, we headed home to dinner on the rooftop prepared by John's friend Drew. He made us delicious spaghetti.

Then we had to get ready to party. This is a production, let me tell you. But it was so worth it in the end. I'll introduce you to the players. Jill and I met in Utah when we were both missionaries. We were also roommates for a while, but then she moved back to Maryland and we've talked on the phone ever since. Scott and John work at the same company as Jill. They are both great. Scott is funny and can pull off a grey suit and pink shirt like no one else I've met. Johnny is such a sweetheart and has a smile that can light up Manhattan. Then there's Joey--the Italian Stallion! When he dances with you, it's like you're the only one in the room. Intense.

Scott, Joey, Jill, John

We all met up at Central and let me tell you... it is one of the best times I've had!! I danced with the hottest boys and they were sooooooo complimentary. I have to say I was nervous about partying with the gays, I didn't feel like I was cute enough. But with a little help from a makeup master I was good to go. John was adorable, as he said with a saucy wink "I might need to get your number". The words hot, smokin' and fierce were also thrown in my direction. I felt great! Everyone was concerned that I might not have a good time so they made it a point to keep me busy. And the dancing was AWESOME!!!!

It was the perfect way to end my East Coast Adventure. From Drew fixing my hair, to Derek only willing to dance with me if I LOVED Kelly Clarkson. And my favorite -- singing with Whitney at the top of our lungs. Thanks guys! I miss you!

Heather and Koko

2009-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

When I was a junior in high school, my parents started a restaurant. They moved in March to open it and I didn't want to leave, so we arranged for me to live with a friend down the street. Heather and I have now known each other for ages, but until a few days ago had not seen each other for about 10 or 12 years neither of us are certain when we last saw each other. So, knowing she was in DC I told her we had to get together. Thankfully, it worked out this time!!

I stayed Friday night with my friend Heather-used-to-be-Hughes (now I can’t spell her last name --I looked it up --Aiolupotea). We met in DC for lunch and it just wasn’t enough time to catch up on the last 12 years or so. Her sweet husband could tell we were excited to see each other and he offered their spare room for the evening. After my sightseeing adventures, I met up with Heather in time to go to a dance rehearsal with her. Heather and Koko (the husband) are Polynesian dancers. Koko is Samoan, so he is really a real Polynesian dancer! They are giving free lessons to some BYU-H alums and they are preparing for a performance at the Washington DC Temple Visitors Center. I got to meet some really great people and totally enjoyed myself. Then Heather and I drove to some of the monuments so I could get my pictures with my AMAZING new camera. I AM IN LOVE WITH IT!!!!!!

I woke to the smell of waffles and bacon and after some Dr. Phil with Koko, Heather drove me to the temple. It is gorgeous. And the sun came out! I got some nice pics, I think. I was then delivered safely to Jill in Baltimore.

Thanks guys for your hospitality!!

This is Kope, Koko's son... sad I didn't get to meet him this time. He's so adorable!

Hello to the Obama's

2009-09-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

I AM

exhausted...

The Freedom Trail

2009-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Boston is GENIUS! They have this red line through the entire city that goes by all the historical sites. All a girl's got to do is follow the red brick road. I didn't have to remember which road to turn on or how far down the block to go. I had a fabulous book (provided by my delightful hostess with the mostess--MAMIE!), well this book was full of historical tidbits and insights. We started at Boston Common on Sunday the 13th and made it into the North End by Paul Revere's house. Stopping at churches and graveyards along the way. We stumbled onto the Boston Arts (Ahts) Festival at Long Wharf and saw artists all over the place.

I saw the church (Old South) where the colonists were whipped into a frenzy and threw the equivalent of one million dollars of tea into the harbour. I saw the grave of the man who lit the 2 lanterns for Paul Revere to let their contacts in Charlestown know that the British were coming by sea. There is such rich history on this side of the country. to walk where George Washington did, and to see buildings that are so old (at least by our country's standards). I am loving it. And I loved that I didn't have to think too hard. I could get my nose out of a map and see the city I was walking in.

Monday the 14th I slept in and then started with a bowl of yummy chowdah at the Union Oyster House Bar. This is the oldest restaurant in America!! The building has been there since 1636 (the year Julius Caesar died) and it has been a restaurant since 1826 (Beethoven was composing!). Anyway, after lunch - I walked the rest of the trail, starting at Paul's house. More churches and graveyards. The USS Constitution (closed) and Bunker Hill (also closed - after I psyched myself up for the 300 stairs to the top - missed it by 10 minutes). It was a glorious day and the night activities were also fabulous.

Amy and I went to Veggie Planet and had dinner on a bread plate. Delish!

Then the best hot chocolate EVER! Made from shaved dark chocolate *heaven*

I found my dream bag in Harvard Square - but the store was closed, so I took a picture.

Then a walk along the river. The skyline was breathtaking!

We planned on listening to Berklee students in a music showcase, but we were pretty beat so we headed home instead. I LOVED BOSTON!!!! I walked a million miles and would walk a million more. I will definately have to come back. So I can climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument and so that Donnie Wahlberg can take me out for some I-talian food!! I looked everywhere for him this time, but no luck...

Mass Transit...

2009-09-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

For the most part, I got the subway system figured out. I feel comfortable buying tickets and reading the map and finding my way around. There are times I have to turn around if I start walking the wrong way and there is always someone to help if I ask. Our first day in NYC, we didn’t have a map. We consulted maps in the subways to figure out how to get to our next adventure. I was quite impressed with ourselves as we went everywhere we wanted to.

Day 2 is a different story. I picked up a map and everything changed. It was pouring down rain and our plans of spending the day in Central Park washed away. We looked for inside activities. We thought we’d go to the Natural History Museum and try to find Ben Stiller and go to the planetarium show. That is, until we saw that it was $24 for admission and the show. We looked at the dinosaur skeletons in the entry, took some pictures of Teddy Roosevelt’s wisdom and decided to go to the Met. There isn’t a straight shot on the subway, but there was a straight shot through Central Park. In the rain. With a broken umbrella. By the time we got there, the bottom 8 inches of my jeans were soaked as well as my socks. And we were happy to get inside.

We took a highlights tour and only lost the tour guide once. There was a couple on our tour from Cannon Beach. When I told them I was from there and that my parents own JP’s, they said, “You’ve waited on us!”Small world, huh? I wanted to talk to them more, but I also didn’t want to interrupt Charles. And I lost them right when the tour was over. Oh well. I thought for sure Charles would take us to see Vermeer’s Milkmaid. But he didn’t. By the time the tour was over, Jill needed to meet up with her business associate for dinner, and I was headed to the theater district to catch a show.

Tiffany stained glass

We consulted the map and there was a subway stop 3 blocks down, or 10 blocks up. So we went down. And when we got there, not a subway to be seen. We came to a bus stop and made our way to Grand Central Station to go our separate ways for the evening. This is the first time that I had ever been alone in NYC and the moment was not lost on me. I will say that it was the tinniest bit scary, but not completely. I wound my way to the Times Square shuttle. I had 10 minutes to make it to the theater to try to win lottery tickets to “In The Heights”. The subway let me off on 42nd and I walked up to 46th. This is not an easy task as the entire world is there at the same time. And with umbrellas! You think it’s hard to walk around people when you’re in a hurry? Throw in the possibility of poking out your eye with one misstep and it is an entirely different game.

I made it with both eyes intact and in time to enter my name into a drawing that I didn’t win. There were only 24 tickets and 60 people showed up. If you’ve not been to the lottery theater style, here’s how it works. They have a certain number of tickets that they sell at a deeply discounted price. Sometimes they are partial view seats and may not be the best in the house, but they are a fraction of the cost of the seats near them. The tickets I was looking at were $26.50 and the seats near them at full price were upwards of $80. Anyway, you show up 2 hrs before showtime and write your name on a piece of paper with the number of tickets you want (only 1 or 2). Then, at a certain time they have the drawing. Literally they put the papers in a bucket and pull them out one by one. When your name is called you gotta make some noise so they know you’re there and everyone claps for you. If your name is called and you aren’t there, they tear up the paper and everyone cheers. After I didn’t win tickets to the first show I tried, I walked up the block and went to try for Rock of Ages. This time I WON!!! They clapped FOR ME!!! It was kinda exciting, I’m not gonna lie.

I had about an hour and a half before the show, so I went to find dinner. I found the cutest little bakery that was just about to close, so my hummus sandwich was half price! Amy’s Bakery, what a find. On my short walk from the theater I found a cute little card shop and gift store. And on the way back, I found a piano bar. I want to go next time I’m in NYC.

The show was SO FUN!!! It’s based on 80’s music. Great costumes, shallow characters and a lame plot based on the great songs of Journey, Pat Benetar, Poison, Bon Jovi… I found myself singing and clapping and dancing in my seat. Well, except when Camera Nazi pulled me out of the theater and made me erase all the pictures I had taken. If they don’t want people to take pictures they should say ‘No photography of any kind’ instead, they said ‘no flash photography’ I totally didn’t use my flash. And I tried to take one too many pictures. That guy Constantine from American Idol was the lead and he was PHENOMENAL! WOW! I woke up singing Journey.

Thankfully I had borrowed one of Jill’s phones as mine died. I txt’d her to say I was on my way. I got to the PATH train to take me to Jersey City and got off for my transfer, not realizing that I had to walk further down. When I saw the train I wanted, I ran…but not fast enough. I missed it. So I settled in with my book to wait for the next one. There was no next one. I asked the lady working if I would be able to get a taxi topside. She apparently lives in the subway station cause she doesn’t know anything about what happens at the station. I didn’t want to exit the station and not be able to get a taxi and not be able to get back in the station. And I didn’t want to go up to txt Jill to tell her what’s going on and miss the next train. IT TOOK 2 HOURS TO GET BACK!! I wanted to claw my eyes out. I don’t know if you’ve ever beenin a subway station for very long, but they are not comfortable. Metal seats (if there are any) and stale air (if there is any). The rush of air from an incoming train becomes a welcome relief, and that’s just gross. When I got to where I needed to be, I finally was able to talk to Jill. She was about ready to call the police. But this is what I saw when I finally breathed in fresh air.

The next day, I had to catch a bus from Chinatown to go to Boston and I’ll only say this… It took me an hour to get 2 stops up and over. And I had to power walk about 2 miles with a 50lb bag on my back cause I only had $2 and it wouldn't get me very far in a cab.

Remembering

2009-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Charles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art told me an interesting fact. When a fire truck is retired, they take the identifying number off the old truck and put it on the new truck. We were looking at an abstract piece of art and listening to him recite the accompanying poem.

The Great Figure
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
In gold
On a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city

Interestingly enough, this same number 5 was one of the first to arrive at what is now called Ground Zero. The truck was crushed, so they took that number 5 and put it on the new truck. I wish I could tell you I have seen this same 5 with my own eyes. I did, however see the number 10 on Liberty Street. This street runs along the side of the World Trade Center Site. All along my walk, there were notes and flowers and pictures tucked into the chain-link fence surrounding the now construction site, from friends and family members alike. I did see a letter from a family from Texas offering comfort and insisting that they will never forget how that day changed them.

I was asleep when it happened. I had school that day and my best friend Jen called me in tears. She was freaking out and by the time I understood what she was telling me, I was astounded. It became more surreal with every image I saw and every prayer I heard. I had the same questions as anyone else. I remember being proud of our President who was unashamed to bring our country to its knees. I remember many prayers on behalf of those whose lives were forever changed by loss and despair.

Along the back of Ladder 10, there is a bronze relief depicting the events of the fateful day of September 11th 2001. “Dedicated to those who fell and to those who carry on” and “may we never forget.” Large flower arrangements share space with paper lanterns and single rosebuds keep vigil with lit candles. I cannot put into words the rush of emotion I felt as I stood there. Perhaps you’ll feel a bit of what I did as you see what I saw.

Eating our way through New York City.

2009-09-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie. We ate ALL DAY LONG! We did other stuff too... in between eating and eating and eating. There are just too many amazing places and only so many days... I'm just sayin'.

It started with delicious homemade cereal with peaches, nuts and just a touch of agave nectar. Our first break from food was the TKTS booth at South Street Seaport. We waited for about 40min. (far less time than Times Square)only to find that the tickets to Phantom were $90 each WITH the discount. Um. NO! While we were waiting, this girl had given us a flyer about someone doing performance art down the street.

His name is Brian Lobel and it's called "Hold My Hand and We're Halfway There" His idea is to spend an entire work week dancing. "From 9am-5pm for 5 days straight Brian will dance non-stop in his bedroom,inviting any and all passerby to join him, to dance with him, to watch a musical film of their choice or simply to stand and watch. [It] links Depression-era dance marathons, where contestants danced until they dropped in pursuit of fame and fortune." We danced with Marylin to "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and Whoopie Goldberg "I Will Follow Him" and "Think" from the Blues Brothers. It was great fun! We tried to get Jill to join us. I asked her afterwards... How often do you get to be a part of performance art? To which she replied, "My life is performance art"

The first two times I came to NY, I didn't walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I made it a goal this time, and Jill said we could IF we went to the best pizza place EVER! hmmmm. OK.

It's called Grimaldi's Pizzaria. UNBELIEVABLE! It's under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Heights. And yes, we made friends with the people sitting by us. It couldn't be helped. We had 2 of the 8 seats at the table. Community tables are great, but over on the West Coast we like our space. So, the cutie to my right was showing his friend from Oklahoma around the city. He told me that I need to work on the not being nice thing. "Nice will get you killed here." And the lady to my left is from England and hoping to move back to NYC. And the pizza is to die for!!

The San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy hosted our next epicurean delights (and a pair of Dolce and Faux-bbana sunglasses). Sfogliatella, Cannoli and Spicy Shrimp - oh my!

Jill's dad has been going to Vincent's since he was young. He grew up in NY and his mom is from Naples. I think he could be considered an expert on all things Italian. I have in on good authority that he also spends $200 at Ferrara's pastries, so we went there first. *sigh* I told Jill that I needed a moment alone with my cannoli. Then we walked by Vincent's. We definately were NOT HUNGRY, so Jill says "Let's just share". Apparently sharing to Jill means that she'll have one shrimp and I will have to struggle through eating the other nine and the two pieces of fried bread smothered in this most amazing spicy tomato sauce.

I told the busser that I would definately need lots of water. I don't think he spoke English. When I thought flames would come shooting out of my mouth right before my head exploded, I finally walked up to the little Italian and asked him to bring me an entire pitcher of water. He finished setting the table he was working on and then came and refilled my water. 2 seconds later, when my glass was again empty, the busser was nowhere to be found. What do you think happened when our waiter brought the dessert tray? Did we turn him away before he could get out the word tiramisu? NO! I was in pain, yet the words "I'll take the Fruitti Di Bosco" rolled so easily off my tongue. Did I tell you we were meeting Jill's cousin for Greek food at 6pm? well, it was 4:30 when we finished 'sharing' our 'snack' at Vincent's.

On our next break from food, we accidently got on an express train and went from 50th to 125th. We wanted to stop at 72nd and then 96th. oops. I had a tip from some native NYers (also Bela Fleck's parents) to check out Jacques Torres Chocolates. It's on Amsterdam near 72nd. We figured maybe we'd go there after dinner since it was getting to be time to meet Roxanne and Mario for Greek food.When Jill told me the name of the restaurant I said, 'that doesn't sound Greek' We got to the address she sent us to and this is what we found...

Definately not Greek, but definately YUMMY! I ordered arroz con pollo and Jill got chicken casserole. There were also these fried sweet plantains. Guess what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow? Roxanne is a character and I could listen to her tell stories for days. She teaches Italian and Spanish at a middle school and she sasses her students right back. My favorite things she said need the story, but in the interest of not making this blog the longest in history, I'll just give you the punchlines -- "every day is Ash Wednesday" and "There you go, God doesn't love ugly"

After the amazing "Spanish Carribean, not Jamaican Carribean" Carribean food, We found our way to Jacques Torres, where - at 5 minutes to closing they still had hot chocolate chip cookies. Which can only be described as alternating layers of crunchy and chocolatey goodness. And since they were hot, we had to eat them immediately. I am saving my chocolate treats, four bite size tidbits, for later. I'm looking forward to 'the love bug'. It's white chocolate filled with key lime and an adorable picture of a ladybug on top. Jill took a bite of hers and insists that it is delicious.

One hour of people watching in Times Square, a green striped Dolce and Faux-bbana bag, and a few raindrops later we found our way to our apartment and finished off the pizza, the rest of the cookie, and some trail mix. Speaking of which, I think I need to eat the rest of my pastry from Vincent's...

Time for some time away...

2009-09-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't think that my first night in NYC I would want to put on my jammies and chill to CSI:NY while eating chips and salsa. Yet, here I am -- happy as a clam in my I <3 Hip Hop T-shirt, staring at the Manhattan skyline and only wondering at the treasures awaiting me tomorrow.

As usual, I waited until the last minute to pack and only had 45 minutes to rest before we had to leave to get to the airport on time. You see, when I plan a trip I look at how soon I could get there and how late I can get home before reality hits. 6am flight? No problem! Except when your car is unavailable and you have to rely on your mom to take you to the airport at 2:30am. oops :)

I sat next to the cutest old couple on the plane. I asked the woman not to be offended because I was going to listen to my music and go to sleep. One of my most favorite things in my possession is my silk eye mask. It is heavenly! At one point, this cute lady saw that I was struggling to cover myself with my blanket (with no eyes, cause they were covered) and she helped me put it around me, then sweetly patted my shoulder. Cute. I snoozed all the way to Houston.

Jill picked me up in Baltimore (after more plane snoozing) and we set out immediately for NYC!!!!! We rocked to The Block and found our way to our room in Jersey City about 10pm. I have to say, I'm glad that we don't have toll roads out West. I don't get them. You have to pay to drive on the roads? hm.

An adorable mini New Seasons type store provided snacks and water and goodies for breakfast. And the day of travel is over. Tomorrow we head to Little Italy for a festival. There are rumors of a cannoli eating contest! And, who knows? A show on Broadway? We'll see what tomorrow brings!

I kissed a Giraffe and I liked i-it

2009-06-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

haha! yes I did!
today was amazing...or rather yesterday...?
I woke up early, packed it all, and headed out. I got a taxi for the whole day and I picked up my friend Frida to have one last GRAND AFRICAN ADVENTURE *said in a really bad australian accent*
Our First stop was the Giraffe Center. This place is awesome! it has a museum thing that shows all this 'pro-enviroment' art and some Giraffe facts, then you go out and there is a deck where you feed, pet, and take pictures of Giraffes. Yes, you even get to kiss them...seeing as they don't have hands, what you do is put a pellet of food between your lips and they come down and get it...it's quite funny, and a bit disgusting because half your face gets slobbered on in the process! although giraffe spit is actually antiseptic...bet you didn't know that!
Then we headed to the animal Orphanage, i thought we were going to the elephant orphanage, but apparantly you can't go there until the evening cause the elephants are...away? i just think that peter didn't want to drive all the way out there...anyway it was cool, because even though it seemed a bit of a zoo, they were actually nursing back most of the animals back to health and helping them grow before there were let go into the wild (which i'm not sure i believe) but i got to pet a cheetah!!! oh yeah! it was really dirty and i promptly got an alergic reaction...BUT...i can say i pet a cheetah, how many people can say that...that's what i thought!
Next stop was m____ village. It was a crocidile farm that houses 84 nile crocs ranging from 1-27ish years old...and i got to hold a 1 1/2 year old! it was a bit scary, but i held it's jaws shut so it couldn't bite me...they are only fed once a week because they don't chew their food and so it digests really slowly. They also don't have tongues, i couldn't believe it until the guide got one to open it's mouth! it was gross! i couldn't imagine kissing that! ew! also it's skin is waterproof so it has to open it's mouth to cool off
our last stop to the Grand Adventure was the City park, wait, first we ate...the only thing i am going to say about this was that i am pretty sure they killed the chicken when we ordered it, cause it took an hour and a half to get there...hmmm...
...then we fed the monkeys!!! they were so cute! well, some of them were. there was one that was afraid of us, one was carrying a baby on it's stomach, one was really aggressive, and one was the cutest thing on the planet! i feel kind of bad because the aggressive one didn't get much food cause it was mean! i have a lot of scratches from it. But the cute one was so gentle and waited until you held the peanuts out to it, i even got it on my shoulders and fed it from there. I have decided that when i grow up and have kids we are getting a monkey instead of a dog, yup! i really wanted to just take it home, and i think it knew it cause every time i started to walk with it, it would jump off...he didn't want to leave :'(
one of the best parts of this day though was what happened next. As we were feeding the monkeys, another monkey grabbed some kids popcorn and we watched as the kid chased the monkey all the way around the park trying to get it back...the monkey won though. anyway, that wasn't the best part. the best part was that we started talking to the kid, Gabriel, and his two friends, Alan and Omondi. they were such great kids, it was really nice to talk to them for the while that we did. Alan is a bright kid, really smart. I just hope he'll be able to suceed in this life. We found out that the kids lived together in a nearby slum, they didn't have any parents and one of thier friends got in an accident earlier that week...they were only 13. when we passed through the slum later i almost started crying. they were dressed in rags, the monkey had just stolen the rest of their food, and they had empty glue bottles, sniffing to get high. Frida and I took the bottles and made them promise to stop sniffing, then we took them to the nearest shop and bought them some food and something to drink. Frida is going to go back next friday and see them again. she is going to try and find sponsers so they can finish their schooling and perhaps have a future. I wish I were in the position to be one! It's so hard to think that i might never see these people again. I am going to have to come back, i just know it...

Masai Mara

2009-06-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend I had the chance to go to Masai Mara Game Reserve...seeing as I have been on Two Safari's and have seen all the animals i really wanted to see except the Lion, i decided that i needed to go on one more.

Saturday started early as i headed to Nairobi to meet the Safari van and group. I got there early and was actually able to talk to a few friends online (at home it was 11/midnight depending where each friend was) this was really good because i hadn't talked to any of them since I have been here.

Anyway, at 9 i met the safari group and we headed 7 hours away to Masai Mara. The group consisted of Me, the American, Pernilly and Clause, from Denmark, Teejey from Nigeria, Asa, From india (who i was actually able to talk with about going to India and she is in charge of an organization that gets volunteers in India, D, maybe we should volunteer for a week or two on our GRAND INDIAN ADVENTURE *said in a really bad australian accent*) and Ignacio (sp?) from Argentina, but he has spent the last year living in England...I got major kudo points with him because i have an Argentinian friend :)

So the trip took a long time and we didn't get there until 4, but less than five minutes into our Game drive we saw Cheetahs!!! they were pretty cool. We didn't really see anything else that night (alot of gazelles and zebras, but those are everywhere!) we headed back to camp. the camp thankfully had beds and a porcline toilet, so it didn't really feel like camping, which was honestly okay with me :).

The next morning I was put with a different Safari group because i was only on a two day safari, so I was put with a group on their last day, it consisted of three women from...Poland? they didn't really talk to me at all because they, well, i don't know why, they mostly talked to eachother in polish...anyway, and there was Joe, from England. As we started the morning game drive we didnt really see anything but a few birds and gazelles...but then across the savanna the driver (joseph) saw a Lion. I was seriously scared for how fast he was driving across the bumpy plains, but it was worth it, cause the Lion seriously walked RIGHT BY THE VAN!!! i could almost reach out and touch it! it was Brilliant! and Beautiful! and Graceful! my friends, there is a reason this animal is King! the way he walked was just Magnificent, and graceful. He was so confident...seriously i have never seen a beast like that! also on this game drive we saw some more cheetahs and even a lepord. I had finally seen all of the big 5! After the Game drive we headed home, it was supposed to go smoothly from there, however, fate had different plans

On the way home joseph decided he wanted to show us the rhino sanctuary so he took off road and drove way too fast across some more plains. We hit water and a few minutes later we were stuck in the mud. after trying and faling at a few things we all got out and pushed the van until it wasn't stuck. we were off again...for a few minutes. We got stuck two more times and then on the third time we really got stuck...we all got out of the van again and tried to push it out, it didn't work. FOUR HOURS LATER joseph had gone to get a tractor but the drivers were unavailable, we had dug a hole around the wheel and tried to put wood underneath, it didn't work. Finally about 20 massai people had come to help and with ten people in front, ten in back, and a few at each of the sides, we pushed it out...we didn't get back to Nairobi until 9ish and my phone had died so i couldn't get ahold of my host family to tell them everything was okay.

When i finally got home Alan was so worried had had called my phone five times and they had no idea where i was. Ah, the adventures i am having!!!! :D

*again about the pics, i do have them but you need to understand the computers here...not exactly the best running or fastest... should have them on sometime thursday or friday...and another note, there will be A LOT of posts coming on Friday as I will be at the airport most of the day :'( my trip is coming to a close...sad

THE COOLEST ADVENTURE IN KENYA...

2009-05-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

alright, last night was, in a word...AWESOME!!!

so on tuesday night i had made plans with Jackson and Richard to meet on Thursday so that I could make plans to go to Massai Mara this weekend. After the Orphanage I was supposed to meet Richard at the Chapel and we would proceed to meet Jackson in town (Richard was Necessary to guide me through the craziness of the city, to make sure i was safe, and obviously get closer to me so that he can get to the U.S.). Upon getting a phone call, plans changed so that I was to meet Richard in the City itself, i was a bit nervous to navigate myself around, but i could do with a small adventure :)

I arrived in the City at 4pm, approximately the same time it started raining. Now, when i say raining what i really mean is it started down pouring so hard that you couldn't really see anything in front of you...i had no jacket, and honestly it was the beginning of the best night ever. the rain was nice, and the weather was warm. I was having a blast. However, Richard is a wimp and when i met up with him he complained almost nonstop about the rain (maybe it only felt like nonstop because i was enjoying it so much) anyway, we met and almost immediately found the closest restaurant to take shelter and wait for Jackson. Almost 45 minutes later we were given directions to meet the guy who was going to help plan my safari. an hour later the plans were made, the money had exchanged hands and we were ready to head home by 5:30. then the real adventure began.

We walked from the office to the other end of the City to catch a Matatu that would bring both Richard and I to our respective homes. upon arriving at the stop we found that the Matatu's that head to Zambezi (my home) only picked people up on the other side of town. So we walked back to where we had started and beyond to wait. By this time it was rush hour and that paired with the fact that it was still raining meant that all of the Matatu's heading to Zambezi were full. We knew we would have better luck to just catch a Matatu to Kawangware (his home) and then getting one to Zambezi from there. Which meant we had to walk the length of the city again. Upon reaching the stop, traffic was at a standstill and seeing as it was still raining, all of the Matatu's were full.

We seriously must have walked at least a mile, in the middle of the street, looking for a matatu to take us home...they were ALL full. by 6:45 i had decided to just spend the money and we would get a taxi. So, Richard called his friend who had a taxi and was a member of the church (which he mentioned at least ten times). His friend was on the outskirts of town but said he would come as soon as possible.

It would be good to mention here that i HAVE to be in the house by 9pm but try to get there before dark to avoid anything that happens after dark(around 7).

Richard and I went back to the restaurant to sit and wait. By this time the restaurant was busy and the music was LOUD! usually i would love this atmosphere but for some unknown reason i was quite uncomfortable. I asked if we could leave but R. informed me that it was either sit here or stand outside (which i would have been fine with, but I'm pretty sure that is the last thing R. wanted to do and seeing as he was there as a favor to me, i was going to be as kind a possible). We were there for about 15 minutes before he was okay to leave and we went to stand outside the Hilton where his friend was going to meet us. Thankfully conversation went smoothly and after a long bit R.'s friend showed up...with no car. Another driver had borrowed it and was well across town and wouldn't be here for at least a half hour (it was approx. 8 by this time). So R.'s friend went on a search for a taxi.

Less then 15 minutes later i was shoved between one man i barely knew, and another I had JUST met, with two starngers in front. I laughed as the warnings of my family and friends not to talk to stranger and especially not to share a cab ran through my mind...I am sorry, but i broke every promise i made and it was probably a good thing i have not seen 'Taken'. however i felt perfectly safe. In fact, throughout the night R. had constantly told me not to worry, that i would get home by nine and i would get there safely. In the taxi he told me no less than three times that i was sitting between two priesthood holders and i would get home safely. I was not frightened, or worried, actually, i was quite the opposite. it was 8:30, past dark and i was not in bed, reading or sleeping. I was having a blast! There is a rush and excitement that can only come from being completely lost in a big city. I with with people i barely knew, alright, people i didn't know at all. I couldn't understand a word most of them were saying (I still am not fluent in Swahili, which i was informed was ridiculous cause i've been here two weeks and it is a really easy language to learn), and i had no idea what was going to happen to me next. I cannot explain how excited and free I felt. It was definitely a rush!

To finish the Adventure, i arrived home about 2 minutes before nine and I was safe. Through the night Joe and Alan called me several times to check my status and see if i was okay, which i was...more than okay :D

on a little lighter note...

2009-05-29T05:37:00.000-07:00

some of you may want to skip this post and go straight to D's better and more exciting information...as most people would think that it is a bit too much information, but seeing as it is a major part of my life here in Kenya I thought that it was my duty to let you be part of my experience completely...

...among learning more about the world around me and in fact myself, learning about who I am and my place in the world, i have also learned a little bit about my limits, for example...I cannot, CANNOT, bring myself to pee in a hole in the ground

There, i said it. I have been here for two weeks, and in those two weeks i have held it up to five, maybe six, hours. I have paid an unnecessary total of at least 100 shillings to be able to pee on a porcelain toilet. The last few days i know I have been silly, (seeing as I didn't even know what the toilet on the orphanage looked like). So today, i swallowed my pride and asked where the toilet was located. As i stood in front of, literally, a hole in the ground all of my fears were confirmed. I know i'm ridiculous, and pampered,i would go so far as to even say i am spoiled. I recognize that and I have never been more thankful to live in a place of porcelain toilets, even in the most grotesque bathrooms. I will never complain again.

Pictured: the blessed gift bestowed to me in Kenya, and the sum of all my fears of Kenya.

You want my autograph?? Well... if you insist!

2009-05-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

HELLO!!! I know that most of us want more and more from C and her amazing trip, and if you haven't read the post before mine -- DO IT! I HAD to post something today. On Tuesday after classes a friend and I went to Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland because we heard they were filming a movie. There are some people in this movie that you may have heard of, if you haven't been living under a rock your whole lives.

Let's see... HARRISON FORD!!!!! BRENDAN FRASER!!!!! KERI RUSSELL!!!!! They've been in town for a while now and this was the first day of confirmed filming that I was able to go to, so I was soooooooo excited. Originally my friend Casi had invited me to come with her {she is on the extras database (cause she wanted to be available for Twilight when they came back-only they didn't come back. sad.) she was told she could bring a friend - ME! but she ended up needing to go out of town... anyway, tmi?} So a girl I know from school heard about it too and knew that I would want to go, so we walked down there after classes.

We showed up and there were 400 other people there, sitting on the stairs and walking around the square.

Many of the people had been there all day. We found out that there was a check-in and you could sign up on their list and be an "official promo extra". Those that registered got a raffle ticket. Promo extras aren't paid, but they were passing out food and water and raffle drawings for things such as $100 gift certificates to Best Buy and $20 gift certificates to local restaurants. And as is the nature with movie sets (cause I'm an old pro at this now!), there was a whole lot of waiting. As I munched on my Oatmeal Raisin Grandma's cookie, I scoped everything out and who do I see to my left, getting his makeup put on? See if you recognize him...

Have you seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off?? IT'S CAMERON!!!! Alan Ruck was also in Spin City with my love Michael J. Fox!

So, we knew that things were getting close...

As we were standing around, reveling in the sunshine and excitement, I looked over by Starbucks and who did I see???

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen... It is Mr. Brendan Fraser himself!!!!!!! I saw him with my own two eyes (and even better after I put on my glasses) Although he doesn't look as toned and delicious as he did in Encino Man or George of the Jungle, he is still loved by one known as ME! We watched them film a scene of him walking with Cameron. They had sandwiches and sodas so I think they were on lunch. So while we were watching, my friend got a text from Alex, who was in the background of the scene. Disappointed that we hadn't gone to Starbucks with him, we meandered our way over there so we could be in the movie too. Well, they changed camera angles and we all had to move. The cutie security guy said that he ahd to tell everyone to move, "Not that you shouldn't be in the movie..." Seriously, how charming is that? We found our way back to the stairs and sat down. A bit later, they changed the shot again, and we had to move. They made everyone move to the floor of the square and then brought small groups of people up after that to be in the background. And who, you may ask, got to be in Mr. Brendan Fraser's movie?? ME, THAT'S WHO!!!! My friend and I were paired with a couple of other people to sit and talk to. They were totally cool. The guy we sat by has been in a commercial! And while we were sitting there, I looked over and who did I see??? A guy that had been in Twilight!! I didn't take a pic of him, but if you remember the restaurant scene when Edward tells Bella what the people are thinking. The interesting looking guy when he says "cat". He was TOTALLY there too! So we sat there for a while and then they told everyone they were doing a wide shot of the square and then they were done. We heard "That's a wrap!!" Then Mr. Brendan Fraser himself got on the mic and thanked everyone for coming and said how Portland was so awesome (BECAUSE IT IS!).

So now I can say that Brendan Fraser has thanked me for being in a movie with him! Sometimes I LOVE my life!

PS-Next week, I may have another opportunity to see him and I will try to actually shake his hand.

Watched

2009-05-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

Honestly i have never given much thought to skin color, besides being a tiny bit jealous of those blessed with a perma-tan... i have never thought less of anybody with a different skin color, nor have I thought any more of anybody with a particular skin color, perhaps it's because i was born and raised in the U.S. which has many mixed races, or perhaps it is because of the way i was raised, maybe it's just the way I am. I mean, i know that some people are racist, and I know that some people have never seen a black person, or a white person, or a red person, or a pink person, or a green person for that matter before. But seriously, we all know that skin color differences exist, why do people make a big deal out of it. We are still all human, we still all have individual ideas, nobody is smarter, and for that matter more dumb depending on the color of their skin.

I bring this issue of skin color up because frankly, it's really bothering me right now. As most of you have probably gathered from the fact that I am in Africa, people with white skin are few and far between, most days i don't see any white people at all, it doesn't bother me of course, as i stated before I hardly even notice skin color, what bothers me is the way most people here react to me, the Mzungu.

Children are adorable, cute, and ignorant. When i pass children are subject to doing many things, most often they yell the statement 'how are you!' to my back, too shy to actually talk to me. Some with wave and speak the statement, in hopes i will wave back, some just yell 'Mzungu,' or 'white person,' I have even had groups of children follow me as far as the end of the street, and a few even come just to hold my hand. I don't mind, like I said it is all in innocence and rather cute.

Women, for the most part, ignore me, if they are with children they will whisper 'how are you' in their little ears, and if they are alone the most they will ever do is stare from a distance. but like i said, they are quite good at ignoring me...they aren't rude and if i talk to them they will talk to me, Sister Caroline just watches out for me...in a sentence they treat me just like anyone else...which suits me just fine.

now Men, men are what bother me most here. not ALL of them, but most of them...as i pass they act just as children, they yell out 'how are you' and 'mzungu' some just want to see how i react, some really do want to talk to me...the difference between the Men and the Children is this...

To the children i am the exotic reptile on display, they want to look at me, and watch me, some are even brave enough to pet me...which is fine with me, they are adorable and what do I expect, i am the first 'one of my kind' that they have ever seen...it's a different story with the men, to them i am the game animal that they are just dying to catch, kill, and reap the reward. As they yell to me, i try not to take notice, look straight ahead and walk quickly. But if i do happen to be caught off guard and take a glance, the look in their eyes is enough for me to grimace, snap my head back to the road, and walk a little faster.

...as a side note, don't worry about me, i'm safe and i am well, nobody will do anything to me, i am protected and the spirit is always with me...

also here, in general, white skin means lots of money. i know that yes, i probably have more money than the average joe here, but seriously? i wish white skin meant money! Last week a woman asked the person accompanying me if he could ask me for 50 shillings so that she could get home. now, 50 shillings is not much at all, but it's not like i have a never-ending supply of money. the U.S. may be richer, but comparatively it is also more expensive to live there and you have to work just as hard to survive.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining, because I'm not, yes I do look forward to the day two weeks from now which I can walk around a city and not be looked at, yelled at, or watched because of the way I was born. I can tell you it has opened my eyes a lot to the prejudice's that exist in the world and i can tell you now that I don't think i have ever made any conclusions based on the way people naturally look, but even so i will be more careful never to ever make these conclusions...if you ever EVER catch me doing it i give you permission, no, a command, to shortly slap me and give me a reproach ( I will do the same for/to you)...please and thank you

life the last few days

2009-05-25T07:05:00.001-07:00

ha...hahaha...sorry...

So my real life over the last week has been a bit more interesting than that :) I am still at the orphanage and love it...i have actually started teaching the kids, usually songs, but lately i have also taught them how to draw stick people and and Elephant, as well as helping them learn to count and simple math (I have been very tempted to start teaching statistics, but something inside of me says that would be a bad idea) I have been shown how to make Ugali and Chappati, so we'll see if i can re-create them at home...that should be interesting :)

However i have also done a lot besides the Orphanage.

Last Friday I was sick, i didn't tell anyone cause i didn't want anyone to worry, it was just a cold. I didn't go to the Orphanage but i did write a lot of blogposts, as you probably noticed. I spent this day doing what i have been putting off for a while...laundry, yes, i did my own laundry, by hand...i have never been more grateful for a washing machine, it wasn't bad and I know i could do it again and I am positive i will, but my laundry skills are lacking and nothing actually got really clean, well my shirts did, but my jeans just got a little less muddy...
Also friday the rest of the volunteers left, i have been on my own the better part of a week and I HATE IT! i can't say that i am never traveling by myself again, but i am never traveling alone again. Whenever I travel from now on it will be in or with a group. when i am alone i can't take pictures with me in them, and there is no one to talk to but myself, you'd think it'd be okay what with a host family and all...NO! they don't talk! Mercy and I have never actually had a conversation, and i do try, but the fellowship just isn't there. Joe...oh my gosh,...you know what...nevermind...this place is amazing and I love it, and i am not just saying that to remind myself...i know it sounds like I am, but i'm really not...okay nothing i can say or do right now will convince you i am really telling the truth (which i am) so i am going to stop...

Last Saturday i was feeling much better and was able to go into town with Frieda, i was going to finish my souvenir shopping at the Massai Market (there will soon be a different post for that) but we also found a shop that sold the exact same things...FOR CHEAPER!!! yay! but we were also able to go to the Market for a bit I found the friends who helped me last week (also in another post) and was cheated out of lots of money as is only expected when a Mzungu goes to the Market :), thankfully Frieda was with me and for reasons that will be explained, i wasn't cheated as much as I could have been. After the Market Frieda showed me a memorial park dedicated to the American Embassy that was bombed in Nairobi in August of 1997 (?) the Park was Amazing and quite peaceful, we stayed there awhile just to sit and enjoy the sunshine.

Sunday was quite a good day, i went to church! you should have seen the face of my host person lady when she asked where i was going dressed up, she couldn't believe it. Church here is just like church at home...surprise, surprise...children cry and fall asleep in Sacrament Meeting, Sunday school is just as boring and relief society (actually true confession: I went to young women's) is just the same. The only real difference was that there was no piano, there was a keyboard that nobody knew how to play, so before each song the chorister would sing the first line and then everybody would start. Everyone was so nice, most everyone came up to me and shook my hand and said hello...my favorite person on the planet is Sister Caroline, she is the Relief Society President and I love her. She made me feel so welcome and if i was ever standing alone she would come talk to me so i wouldn't feel awkward....church was a good experience. :)

Monday was boring, didn't do much...

Tuesday, now tuesday was AMAZING i went to the Orphanage but left early because i was going to see jackson's medical center...let me explain...If you remember, or just look, a few posts back i talked about Jackson and how he wants to start a volunteer program here in Africa. I volunteered to see what he was doing and maybe help out a bit, i was able to see the Library and on tuesday i went to see his medical Clinic, St. MAC's (Mother and Child, named for the target groups) is located in..KIBERA! you can't imagine how excited/nervous i was to go to Kibera and I wish that i were courageous enough to take out my camera, however in fear of losing my precious moments caught on film i kept it in my pocket...anyway, i was led to Kibera by Richard, i don't know if i have already talked about him, but i thought that he was engaged to Frida, but apparently that is a different Richard, because if it were up to him we would probably be married next week...and this for two reasons, 1. if he married me he would have instant respect from all Kenyans because i am white (oh it gets better), and 2. if we married he would become a U.S. citizen, which is his ultimate dream. of course when he was explaining this to me he didn't mention me personally, only 'white chicks'in general (it would've been rude) but the conversation was very pointed and followed rather immediately after the relationship status question...i told him I should slap him and the only reason i didn't was because he was my guide not only through the slums but through the whole of Nairobi in the following days. Anyway, back to the real story...after taking many matatu's and various busses across town we reached Kibera and Jackson came to Retrieve us and show us to the clinic. If you were to pass through the cramped streets and didn't know where you were going, you would have missed the clinic completely, it is set back behing the streets and you have to go througha narrow alley to enter. Upon entering you find yourself in a tiny reception room with various posters about malaria and HIV prevention, there is a small pharmacy and three small rooms in the back, one is the 'lab' which is called so because it houses the only telescope on the premisis and it doubles as the file room, there is also an examination room which doubles as the office and a third room, the third room holds the most expensive machine that probably costed more then the whole of Kibera itself and anything valuable held within...it's a...crap i forgot the word...hahhaha...that machine that shows the baby in the stomach...and it's called...________ (just fill it in already). Jackson's vision is to be able to help all women and children in Kenya, to provide affordable and quality Healthcare. With this machine he is able to help many women who would not beable to see the baby otherwise, he only charges 600 shillings to have a scan whereas it would cost over 2000 at a normal hospital. He soon wants to beable to get the internet in his clinic and be able to scan problem areas in a body and send then to an American doctor to get a second opinion while the patient is still there. He is such a great person and if i come back to Africa anytime soon it will be to help him.

Due to lack of Time and Patience with the computer I am not going to post pictures at the moment, i will soon though. I hope you have enjoyed this novel of my last week and i sincerly hope you did not find it wikipediaish...yes it's a word...

The Children

2009-05-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

I love love LOVE LOVE it here!!! and the best part about being here is spending time with the little orphans...although only half of the kids i spend time with are actually orphans, I want to introduce you to them all...I'll start with the youngest and work my way up every few posts.

Frederick
Fredrick is 3 years old he is very quiet and mostly just sits and observes, he doesn't always participate and hardly ever plays with the other children. But i guess he is only three, so you can't really expect a whole lot more...however he is smart, he seems like one of those kids who just knows things.

Brian
Brian is a little punk. he is sneaky and playful, quite adorable and very charming. Today he took two pencils, stuck them in his pocket and refused to give them back. When i took out the camera, if i wasn't taking pictures of him, he was trying to cover up the lens so i couldn't take pictures of anyone else...like i said, a punk.

Peter
Peter truly is one of my top favorites. I love to make funny faces at him because he tries to make them right back. He is full of life. and actually yesterday he left the orphanage. He and his two siblings (Anthony and Mary) were brought to the orphanage last July when their mother ran away from their abusive father and the father abandoned them. Just last week their mother found them at the orphanage and yesterday got the papers to have them returned to her...i will miss them, but i am happy their mother found them, i only pray she can provide for them.

Odiambo
Odiambo is playful and sweet, as we were walking back from lunch my first day here he held my hand and led me back :) at first i though he was a trouble maker but he really isn't, just playful. Odiambo is either 4 or 5 and he was brought to the orphanage a few years ago when both of his parents died of AIDS, he too is HIV positive.

Kibera Slums

2009-05-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya is the largest slum in Africa, and has a population estimated at one million. The name "Kibera" is derived from kibera, a Nubian word meaning "forest" or "jungle."
The slum originated in 1918 as a Nubian soldiers' settlement in a forest outside Nairobi, with plots allotted to soldiers as a reward for service in the First World War and earlier wars.

After Kenyan independence in 1963, however, various forms of housing were made illegal by the government, rendering Kibera unauthorized on the basis of land tenure. Essentially, since the early 1970s landlords have rented out their property to a significantly greater number of tenants than legality permits. Since the tenants, who are extremely poor, are unable to obtain or rent land that is "legal" according to the Kenyan government, the slum-dwellers find the rates offered to be comparatively affordable. The number of residents in Kibera has increased accordingly despite its unauthorized nature.

Kibera has residents coming from all the major ethnic backgrounds with some areas being specifically dominated by one tribe . Many are coming from rural areas due to the problems of rural underdevelopment. This multi-ethnic nature coupled with the tribalism of Kenyan politics has led Kibera to be the site of small ethnic conflicts throughout its near 100 year history (most recently in 2002 in which many resident's homes were attacked by arson).

On our way to Carnivore we passed Kibera and stopped to take pictures...however we couldn't drive through it sadly because it was getting late...and we all know what can happen when it gets dark :-S

Amboceli

2009-05-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

last weekend i had the chance to go to Amboceli National Park . Amboseli lies immediately North West of Mt. Kilimanjaro, on the border with Tanzania. Amboseli was established as a reserve in 1968 and gazetted as a National Park in 1974. The Park covers 392 km2, and forms part of the much larger 3,000 Km2 Amboseli ecosystem. Large concentrations of wildlife occur here in the dry season, making Amboseli a popular tourist destination. It is surrounded by 6 communally owned group ranches.

The National Park embodies 5 main wildlife habitats (open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush country, swamps and marshland) and covers part of a pleistocene lake basin, now dry. Within this basin is a temporary lake, Lake Amboseli, that floods during years of heavy rainfall. Amboseli is famous for its big game and its great scenic beauty - the landscape is dominated by Mt. Kilimanjaro.

This was truly an amazing experience, we drove all over the park and found giraffes, hyenas, ostriches and ELEPHANTS!!! the only downside was that the clouds covered the peak of Mt. Kilamanjaro ALL DAY!!!
Oh, and before we entered, we had to stop to pay at the gate and we were bombarded with the Massai people trying to sell us things...i bought a mask, well I traded for it...it's a really nice mask danita...and i'll buy you new sunglasses :) I promise! I LOVE YOU!!!

The Matatu

2009-05-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

I think i mentioned before about the Matatu being the most popular form of Public transportation, but in fact i have found that it is private, anyone can start a matatu, i thihnk its kind of lik a franchise??? anyway they all have numbers and depending on the number is where they go, like a public bus. but the thing is there is nothing to tell you their routes, you just have to know. so if i want to go anywhere i have to ask joe, or eunice which Matatu i need to take.

So here's how it works...
To get to the orphanage i have to walk down the street and catch the '135 Matatu,' seems simple right? WRONG! as soon as you go to the stop there are at least 3 matatus which means there a 3 guys crowding around you, trying to convince you to talke their Matatu, when you finally find the right now you have to ask how much it costs (usually it's between 40 and 70 shillings, but you don't really know if they are cheating you becuase you are white so that automatically means you have money so they can shortchange you and you would never know!) then when you know, you crowd into this 12 seater van...only you are on there with anywhere from 12-24 people (seriously, there were 24 people one time, 3 guys were hanging out the door) the entire ride you have to sit squished between at least four other people and try to protect your pockets and belongings at the same time as trying to breate the filthy air and know where you are and how long until you have to get off, because yes, these Matatus have routes, but they only ever stop if you tell the money collector guy...Oh yeah! any paying! somteime during the journey, the guy will ask for the money and you have to give as close to the amount as possible, because like i said before they WILL shortchange you. than as you get off you are trying to squeeze past 18 other people riding and trying not to touch any of them...by the time I get off the Matatu, i am ready for another shower!

I know it sounds really bad, but it is an experience that i don't think anyone should live without :)

Carnivore

2009-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Carnivore is probably the Best Restaurant in Nairobi, or at least the most expensive. (approx. $30 a meal) It is a restaurant that serves mainly...meat!it serves anything from chicken to Pork to Crocodile! yes...usually it serves game meat at well: buffalo, Zebra, Lion, Gazelle, etc. However due to too much hunting they are not allowed to serve the game meat anymore, BUT, i was able to try Crocodile and Ostrich meat!\

Anyway last Friday the group of us volunteers went to experience Carnivore
Here's how it works: we go into the restaurant, which is very nice by the way, and there is a HUGE roasting BBQ pit where they cook the meat and when we were sat we ordered the drinks. When the drinks were brought out the meal officially starts. After the soup of the day the servers bring out a bunch of sauces for the different meats and the put a flag at the table. For the rest of the meal different servers come to the tabel with HUGE swords with meat on it and depending on the meat they either slice it off with a huge knife or they slide the pieces off the sword onto your plate. Oh my gosh it was insane! when you have eaten as much as you can you surrender and take down the flag and then they bring you dessert! all of this for $30...it would have cost much more in the states, that's for sure!

The Orphanage

2009-05-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Riruta Shade Acadamy is located in Kangware outside of Nairobi. To get there i have to take the 135 Matatu for about 30 minutes. Upon reaching Kangware i walk for about 10-15 minutes before reaching the orphanage. At the Orphanage i help in the Classroom for the younger children Ages 3-6. Well, if you could call it helping, i usually sit there while either Vidah or Evelyn teaches, then i might play with the children during playtime and at lunch i eat with the children and then i sit and talk to the women while the children sleep...i feel so bad because i want to do more, but it's like they don't want to give me responsibilities and i don't know how to make them make me do things. I think that as i am there everyday they will have me do more things, yesterday i taught the children a song (popcorn popping) and tommorow i am going to teach them a game...if you have any ideas of what i can do with them please let me know!

The children are so wonderful though, there are twelve in all there is Frederick, Brian, Peter, Odiambo, Amos, Alvin, Jimmy, Omondi, Patience, Virginia, Alex, Robin, Mary, Justin, Michelle, and Renate. the youngest and the oldest are my favorite (the first four and the last four) but they are all so amazing and full of life! I am getting to know them better every day.

This place truly is a place devoted to Christ, the motto is: "Backward: Never, Forward: Yes! to Meet Christ" they pray before classes and each meal. You can definatly feel the spirit, it feels like a safe place for the Children.

Pictures: The Orphanage, Some of the Children with the Color Blast Gum, Justin, the four Oldest Playing with Tops :)

Missionary Work and the Church :)

2009-05-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Although it has happened the most recently, i think that most of you would want to here this story the most :)

My first day at the Orphanage:
the Orphanage is very much at Christian Orphanage. The first day i was there Vidah asked me about my beliefs! Talk about missionary opportunity, she wanted to know all about what i believe! we talked about the Book of Mormon, the Plan of Salvation, the Church Program, Atonement, Jesus Christ, the Trinity and how we believe differently, EVERYTHING! Some of you know this, but Brother Farmer gave me an extra book of Mormon to give when i left, and guess what! first day there and she was so into it, not necessarily a 'baptize me next week' into it, but she really wanted to know what we believed, even now, we still talk about it almost every day and i was able to give the book of Mormon to her...anyway that isn't the story you really want to hear about...

While talking to her, she said that she believed that there was an LDS church building RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD!!! she said that a lot of people stay away from the building and the Missionaries (or rather she said the white men with white shirts, black pants and name tags) because they worship the devil and are believed to be a cult...that is when i knew we had the right people.

Today, i left the house early so that i could wander and find the church...i took the first road i saw and about two minutes walking i saw a white steeple...ten minutes later i found the church, and what do you know!? there were couple missionaries with some of the members that lived close by!!!

I met the bishop, the relief society President, and the young womens president! I also met Jackson, who used to be the bishop (He was bishop for six years and got released three months ago) I also met Frieda who is a 19 year old girl that lives right down the road from the church. Jackson and I started talking, and he is now called as a welfare specialist and he is starting a volunteering company through the church based here in Kenya where students from the U.S. can come and either stay with a member or in a hotel. Then they can travel all over Africa doing service. Right now he has three volunteers in Mombasa. there are over 100 areas in which you can volunteer and by next month they will be on the internet :)

I'll talk more about it later, but honestly i don't feel like i am doing much or helping much at the orphanage, I feel like i should be doing more while i am here. Now Jackson and Frieda are going to help me help. Tomorrow i am going to go with Frieda to a Library that they have set up to help African students get excited about learning, and then hopefully later this week I am going to go the the Hospital with Jackson and help out there! I really feel like this is why i came...I mean, i feel like i am being put in a position to help, and meeting people that will help me progress...

Anyway, the way i met them is because two months ago they took a piece of land right by the church and made it into a community Garden. Now, every morning families go to work in the Garden. It was so wonderful!!! they have only been planting for a month and this is what it looks like!

Pictured: The Garden, and Frieda with a Mushroom

People

2009-05-19T05:29:00.001-07:00

In past and future posts i have mentioned and will mention a few people, i am not going to tell you a bit about all the important people i have met, just so you know :)

Gloria and Allison
Gloia and Allison are the first couple of volunteers that i met and they are my roommates. Gloria is 25 years old and an architect from California. Allison is going into her senior year studying Accounting in Syracuse, NY. They met three years ago when they both traced their roots starting in San Fancisco all the way to China. Allison had a couple of weeks free and decided she wanted to teach English in Kenya and asked if anyone wanted to come...Gloria said yes! (I wish someone would have volunteered to come with me :)

Winnie and Jason
Winnie and Jason were the second set of volunteers that i met, They are both from Vancouver B.C. Jason just graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Winnie is currently studying Engineering. Winnie was the initiator in this couple, she wanted to come and jason thought she didn't know what she was getting herself into so he came too...okay, not really, but it was mentioned

Joe, Eunice, and Kevin
Joe is the Volunteering Solutions Coordinator here in Kenya, he is an okay guy, will tell me anything i need to know, and will answer questions if asked, but other than that if he needs something done, or we need help he will hand us over to his assitants Kevin or Eunice.
Eunice is 21 years old, studying education at the University, she is very nice, and very quiet, she has helped a lot in settling down here in Kenya
Kevin i don't know very well he just helped me get home the first day of volunteering at the Orphanage, but he seems like a cool guy, lacks patience with the Matatu's, but really, who doesn't?

Vidah and Evelyn
Vidah and Evelyn are the women who teach at the orphanage, these are the women that i spend the most time with and help to teach the children. They are wonderful hard working people who donate all of their time to the Children. I look up to them Very much
Vidah has two children (one of them goes to school at the orphanage) and lives close by with her husband. She has been teaching at the orphanage for two years
Evelyn also lives close by with her husband and spends ALL of her time at the orphanage helping, she has been there i think Six years! i believe she also has two children.

Sasa Kwa Kenya! (Hello from Kenya)

2009-05-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family, just to let you know the last blog WAS courtesy of wikipedia, i can't spend much time on the internet and its REALLY SLOW...i am alive, and i am sorry i can't write everyday but that is life here...i have to take an hour Matatu ride in order to get here and i just can't make it everyday...sorry!
Anyway other that the lack of communication with the ones i love, everything here is AMAZING! i am learning so much everyday and I can't help but falling in love with this place and the people i know i have posted a couple things, but can you believe that was only the first day here!?! and it's been a week! I am going to write as much as i can about the last week and hope you can sort through it all, sorry about the mess...

So the day after my grand Safari I was briefly shown the Orphanage i would be working at and i was taken to be shown Nairobi. Nairobi is the Capital of Kenya and the biggest City. We were shown many Gov't buildings including the Parliment and the courts. however, we couldn't take any pictures because apparently you can get arrested if you take pictures of the gov't buildings. So, i could only take pictures of the Conference center and the statue of the First Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta

To those of you who thought i was going to be staying in a hut in the middle of the Savanna, i am sorry to disappoint. I am actually staying in what Kenyans would call a Mansion, although it is no bigger than an average house in the U.S. it has a porcelain toilet (although it only works half the time) Two burners (that plug in), and a T.V. (that has about five channels)...I am doing laundry by hand and hanging it up to dry, eating mostly rice, beans, and maize with vegetables, i think it's pretty good, but other volunteers don't really like it, like i said internet is rare, and white people are even more so...I wouldn't have it any other way! it gets a bit lonely because I can't really talk to many people. If i could change one thing it would be that i would have brought someone with me. Next time i guess :)

SAFARI !!!

2009-05-16T06:40:00.000-07:00

After my ride on the Matatu I was able to go on a 1 day Safari to Lake Nakuru, it is about a two hour ride away from Nairobi. Upon arriving i was greeted by the safari guide, Simon, and I met two other volunteers, Gloria and Allison.

Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. It started off small, only encompassing the famous lake and the surrounding mountainous vicinity. Now it has been extended to include a large part of the savannahs.The lake is world famous as the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth - myriads of fuschia pink flamingoes whose numbers are legion, often more than a million maybe two.
They feed on the abundant algae, which thrives in the warm waters.The park now has more than 25 rhinos, one of the largest concentrations in the country, so the chances of spotting these survivors are good. There are also a number of Rothschild's giraffe

While there I saw only two of the 'African Big Five' (Elephant, Lion, Cheetah, Rhino,Buffalo) I only saw the Rhino and the Buffalo, but I am going on another Safari tommorrow and then hopefully another one in a couple weeks to Massai Mara...I guess we'll see!!! Also While i was at Lake Nakuru I saw Zebra's a plenty, Pumba, and Giraffe's!!! (which i have recently decided is my favorite Animal)

After Lake Nakuru, we went to Lake Naivasha, which has Hippos, i'm sorry to everyone who told me not to, i didn't heed your advice and I did go into the Lake (but don't worry, i was in a boat :) The Hippos were Hideous, but quite captivating...Their Mouths are HUGE!!!

Picked Up

2009-05-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family, yes, i am in Kenya, and I am alive...for now :) There is so much that I have done/I am going to do, that i could fill numerous blog posts, unfortunately i don't have the time right now...so instead i am going to tell you a quick story about right when i arrived.

Upon leaving you last i was about to get on the plane to finish my journey and arrive in Nairobi. On the plane i was able to sleep quite a bit, about six hours so i was fresh to begin my adventures here. When the plane landed I was led to the visa entry place and got to pay only half what i was expecting so that was good :)
As i picked up my baggage and walked outside i found about fifty people holding signs waiting to pick up others arriving in Kenya, after walking up and down the row of people frantically searching for my name a man started asking who I was looking for and if he could help...needless to say i was a big scared seeing as i was just arriving here a million miles away from home and there was not a familiar face to see...everyone i was talking to was a stranger!!!

Anyway, this man was actually really helpful and called Joe, the project manager person, who then talked to me and apparantly my plane arrived not only a half hour early, but it only took about a half hour to get through customs, which it usually takes about an hour, so he would be a few minutes...by this time i was calmed down and led to the cafeteria area, by the man with no name who helped me. (yes, the thought that i was going to disappear and not be found did run though my head, but it's not like i couldn't trust anybody...don't worry, i was wary and careful)...yes, i was!
So, after about five minutes of waiting i was found by Joe and Eunice, my things were collected and i was shown to the car (i accidentlly started to go the the drivers side because, of course, the sides are oppisite america). After driving a few minutes i was informed that i was going to take my 1 day safari that day. I wasn't able to go home or freshen up, which was okay, other than feeling a terrible mess and not having looked in a mirror for two days, but maybe that was for the best :) I was promptly taken to the Matatu (public transportation) Eunice got me a ticket and led me to the bus and then commenced the two hour journey to Lake Nakuru where i met up with Peter (tour guide), Victor (driver), Allison (volunteer from NY), and Gloria (volunteer from CA) but that is another story, i will tell you however that Jason (volunteer from Vancouver BC) deemed me the bravest person, not only because i came to Kenya alone, but i rode the Matatu alone...he got pickpocketed the day before as he was getting off...but again that is another story.

Next time i get on, i promise pictures and the safari story, I love most of you, and don't worry, i'll be safe!

A Foggy Day in London Town

2009-05-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my friends, family, and anyone else who might randomly read this blog. I only have about ten minutes to write because i only had one pound, so please forgive the mistakes. I just wanted to let you know about my little side trip into London today, i was here for approx. 10 hours before my flight to Kenya so i decided to get past customs and explore a bit :)

My first stop was the British Museum, here I found amazing artifacts and info about the ancient Greeks and Romans and then also Africa and a bit about money around the world and clocks. It was truly amazing. But about an hour and a half roaming the british museum my drive to see more took hold and I made my way to Parliment to see Big Ben! it truly was an amazing sight, unfortunately it doesn't take to long to see it. So i started wandering down the street looking for an adventure and lo and behold I found Trafalger Square. By this point my time for exploring London was almost finished, but i still had not found a Pasty that i promised my sisters i would enjoy for both of them. Unfortunately none of the approx. Fifteen restaurants/cafes has any :( but i still had my adventure. I made my way back to the airport and now i have and hour and a half until i finish my long journey to Kenya...perhaps next time i can write more about my adventures in London, perhaps I'll have too much to say about Kenya...however, until then, i Love most of you reading this :)

i'll add in pictures later ;)

About to Go...Somewhere New

2009-05-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Alright Everyone, here it comes, C here, starting a new epic page in this blog we call life...or rather a travel blog :) Next sunday, May 10th 2009 I am going to travel halfway across this planet we call Earth to Kenya. Just me this time...

I am going to spent three weeks working at an Orphanage in Kenya near the big city, the largest city,and capital, Nairobi. I hope to spend the weekends traveling and the weekdays serving.

How I started
Last November a roommate and I started talking about traveling and she mentioned that she wanted to travel and serve people, i agreed and spent the next three days on the internet. after I had decided to go some friends supported me (Kandice and Trish :) and other friends discouraged me (Hernan) which only pushed me harder to actually go. Now here it is, six months later and I AM GOING!!! (ha ha to Hernan :P )

I don't know how much I will actually get near the internet but my hope is to blog every few days about the AMAZING experience I am about to have. I will be staying about a half hour bus ride away from the Orphanage with my Host family, a woman named Mercy and her 8 year old daughter. :)

Some stats about Kenya

Kenya is found in Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania

Population: approx. 39,002,772

Ethnic Groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Religion: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%

Languages: English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages

Gov't Type: Republic

Independence Day (From UK): Dec. 12th 1963

President: Mwai Kibaki

Spring Break Happiness!!

2009-03-27T15:45:00.001-07:00

I LOVE TO TRAVEL!!!!! If I am not on a trip, I am planning one. Right now I am lucky enough to be on a trip. We have just concluded Day 7 and I am in one of my favorite places in America. I am in Bluff. It is my first time back in nearly 7 years and I am so glad to be here. J and I shared a Navajo taco at the Twin Rocks Café pretty soon after the sun went down and right after checking in with our AWESOME hostess Elda. Perhaps I should give a short rundown of the trip so far.

Day 1 –(Friday March 20) – WICKED!!! This show is AMAZING! If you have an opportunity to see it – GO! I got chills and tears and I left the show wanting to be a Broadway star. J and I went to see it with some of my Vancouver peeps. It was the perfect end to a crazy finals week.

Day 2 – Cannon Beach. Ginger and I had a photo shoot. I read my book on the beach for a bit and then worked for a couple of hours. This means that I got a delicious meal prepared by my FAVORITE chef and the best father I know – MY DAD!

Day 3 – Sunday with the family. We had a pseudo-impromptu birthday party for J, since she is leaving to go to school and won’t be home for her bday in May. She received gifts such as dishwashing soap, cleaners and tp from Costco!!

Day 4 – driving, driving, Multnomah Falls, driving, driving, driving, driving, driving, breakfast at the last Burgerville for 24,000ish miles, driving, driving, driving, driving, driving, sighting of the Boise temple, driving, driving, driving, driving, driving, SURPRISE CASEY in Rexburg!!!!!! We talked to her when we got to Idaho Falls and through some sneaky investigative conversation we discovered that she would be at home studying. We text messaged her a pic of Multnomah Falls and one of the Welcome to Idaho sign and the last was a pic of J and I standing in front of her door. Much to our sadness she had left and was not home for the surprise. We got to see her about an hour later and visited until curfew.

Day 5 – Enjoying all that Rexburg has to offer! We went to visit C at work and then her boss let her off early (thanks Ryan!). We enjoyed Bajio for lunch and went to Brother Baron’s Book of Mormon class where J got to tell everyone her favorite movie from each genre and I admitted that if I could be any Disney character I would be Ursula the Sea Witch ( I think I scared them. Really). We went to the Spori Gallery where there was a VERY COOL show about creativity where they featured senior projects from the year. I found a book I wanted at the bookstore and resisted buying BYUI paraphernalia. We met C’s roommates and friends and relaxed at the apartment until some of us went to Craigo’s for pizza buffet (Oreo pizza = yum!) then off to the cheap theater to see He’s Just Not That into You. It was pretty funny how interactive that movie became. For example, one of the characters cheats on his wife and every time he came on screen, several people were heard to say “CHEATER!” and at the mushy parts, there were audible sighs.

Day 6 – J, C and I went to JB’s for breakfast where C’s hot chocolate smelled like play dough. Erika had told me to go to the cupcake place. WOW! We got 5 different kinds of cupcakes and they have all been delicious so far. The pictures will say everything. After saying “later” to C outside her job, J and I drove to Salt Lake City. We met up with Russ and watched an episode of Wife Swap. What a weird show. Dinner was Crown Burger, which happened to be delicious but made me feel not so vivacious. Jen and I got to use Mike’s tickets to the Utah Grizzlies hockey game!!! We were on one end about 7 rows from the ice. There was some pushing and shoving, 2 broken hockey sticks and a few almost altercations, but no full on fights. A little disappointing.

Day 7 – TODAY!!! Thursday March 26th. We took it easy this morning and I got my rear end kicked at Dr. Mario. I am not as good at the game as I remember. Jen’s youngest, Ryan, really wanted me to come say hello so we stopped by on our way out of town. Then we drove and drove and drove. We had a miracle and this is what I will conclude with. We were trucking along on the mountain and there was some blowing snow, but nothing serious. I was coming up pretty fast on this semi, so I pulled into the passing lane. It was at this point that I had to turn on the wipers and wash the windshield of the road spray from the truck. I did not see that there was ice on the road, but I sure felt it. I lost traction and I was VERY afraid that we would slide into oncoming traffic. At exactly the right moment, I jerked the car into the other lane and after a slight fishtailing maneuver the tires found the blacktop and we were safe. My senses were on full alert by this point and my heart took several miles to calm down. While some may say that they are exceptional drivers and can handle anything that comes, I know that our recovery was due to a higher power than my own. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father that is mindful of his children and the times when he needs to direct specific movements of theirs. I know that I was guided on the road today.

Our Day In Hollywood!

2008-12-23T01:32:00.001-08:00

Our Day in California!
Unfortunately because we had to take…I mean, got to take a side trip to Lake Havasu, we only got one full day in the sunny California. However, that day was filled with all sorts of adventure! We woke up early, at the crack of 8am, and took our time getting ready, at about 9:30 we left the house and made our way to Porto’s Bakery, HOLY COW! Talk about a bakery! It was a truly amazing sight! And the taste was even better! We got there too late to eat breakfast, so we ordered sandwiches which were so tasty, I think J’s was the best, I forget what it was, but it was great! We also got to see Kate, she was headed up to Oregon from San Diego, so we got to visit with her for a bit.
Portos Goodies

Us...

We then took a trip to the Americana Mall, just so we could look at all of the stuff rich people like to buy. I found probably the softest leather jacket that anyone in the history of the world has ever felt…it was $750, I don’t wish I had that jacket, I just wish I could afford to buy that jacket . Anyway, we went to another mall, I forget what it’s called, but we went to buy toys (no, not because we were bored). Earlier that morning David was looking online for stuff we could do that day and he found that Knott’s Berry Farm was doing a Toys for Tots drive. If we brought a toy valued at $10 or more you get in for free! So we went to buy toys.
After we got the toys we headed to Hollywood. We didn’t explore Hollywood Blvd. as much as I wanted to, but we also didn’t have as much time as I wanted…We got to take a tour of the Kodak Theatre, it was so cool! We found out a lot of interesting stuff, like if you go out of the public eye for too long, you won’t get invited to come back to the Academy Awards, you’ll be put into a lottery…it’s sad. However we also found out that in the year 2010 the Kodak Theatre is only going to host the Academy Awards and…CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!! Yes, that’s right, they are going to make a special show for Hollywood and play it exclusively at the Kodak Theatre, we are definitely going to see it! After the Theatre tour we headed outside to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see the Handprints! It was fun to see all of them and the Theatre is AMAZING! I found my hand twin…Jack Oakie…I have no idea who he is…I should look that up .
In Front of the Kodak

My hand twin!

Tomoko was supposed to meet us for the Kodak tour, but she got really lost, so instead she met us at Pink’s, pink’s is the best Hot Dog stand ever! Truly amazing…and everybody thinks so! We waited in line for about and hour and a half, and it was gone in about ten minutes. It was so so tasty! And we got to see Tomo, which was a major plus!

To top off our night we headed to Knott’s Berry Farm. Knott’s Berry Farm is a theme park of sorts, I mean, of course you’ve heard of their jam, and cookies, and yummyness, but they also have rides and shops and Snoopy. We got there at about 7:30 so we only had 2.5 hours to play before they closed. The first ride we went on was the Supreme Scream, if you’ve been to Vegas it’s called the Big Shot, except this one is bigg. In fact it is the largest descending ride in the world…you sit in a chair with your feet dangling below and it takes you way up to the top and then drops you, it brings you up again, and drops you again. You must know that I have not been on a ride since I was about 8 years old, so to go on a ride like this was either the worst, or the best thing I could have possibly done…I’ll let you decide. By the end of it I was practically hyperventilating, and laughing, and almost crying. It was truly amazing, that was the only ride that J went on, but D and David and I wanted more! We went on another ride called the Boomerang and then the Park was closing, David and I ran to another ride and got in right as they closed the ride. We were the last ones they let on . That was the best one, I don’t know if it was because it was the longest, the last one, or if it was because we barely got on…maybe it was a mixture of the three . D and J didn’t make it to the ride in time, but that was okay, because J wanted to go find the gift shop anyway.
One of the coolest parts of the night was driving in David’s Mercedes convertible, it had screens in the headrest’s and we watched a U2 DVD. Wow, I didn’t know I liked U2, but I really do . We also got to watch a Dave Matthews Band DVD as well. So fun! It was a Blast!!!
After the ride

David and Grace

Day 6: London Bridge Is Falling Down!

2008-12-23T01:31:00.001-08:00

We left early to get to Lake Havasu. D drove Uncle David’s car with Uncle David in it, and C and I drove Sid. D was in an e x t r e m e l y bad mood.

****** this is D interrupting... I am adding pics to the blogs and just read this post...and I have to say in my defense that I only got 4 hours of sleep and things had been frustrating*********

I was actually pretty grateful that I was not in the car with her. We drove through the exact same places that we had driven on Wednesday, but they were now almost completely devoid of snow and ice. It was a little strange. We passed by the fateful casino that had unintentionally caused so much trouble, and then moved on towards Arizona. The car ride was long, boring, and uneventful. That was probably a good thing, considering the events of the last one. We got Uncle David home, and he insisted on treating us to lunch. We went out after lunch and saw the London Bridge. It was pretty. We found out all sorts of info about the bridge, and C donated some coins to the huge Salvation Army donation thing that they had there. It was a pretty cool ‘donation thing’. It had a slot for every state. C donated for both Oregon and Idaho, since her heart belongs to both for various reasons. I didn’t donate to either, since my change belongs to my pocket for various other reasons. C is insisting over my shoulder that her heart does not belong to Idaho, it belongs to Rexburg. She wants that made very clear. Distinguish between the two. Idaho, no… Rexburg, yes. Sorry to all you Idahoans that are not from Rexburg. Anyway, back on track. We decided that it would be downright rude to pass through the area and not say Hi to our Grandma (Hi Grandma! (she reads this blog continually)) So we stopped in Earp (yes, named after Wyatt, who was born nearby) and had a short visit with her. We met the newest addition to our family, a little yapper-dog named Arrow. (Sorry, Grandma, I don’t know breeds, just size and sound). He was absolutely adorable, for all the noise he made. (I think I remember saying the same thing about my little brother when he was born. ;) )

When we finally made it out on the road to Cali, it was almost 5pm. We were all a little tired, but very anxious to get to LA and meet with David (Not Uncle). We were supposed to meet with David (not Uncle) late Thursday, and we were excited to see him and feeling guilty about missing almost a whole day with him. We drove FOREVER and finally made it to LA. We did a few things on Friday night, but I will leave them for C to describe, as LA is her territory. Thus ends the record of J Pappas on Vegas times.

Day 5: More than just food

2008-12-23T01:27:00.000-08:00

Well, after the excitement of Wednesday, pretty much nothing was going to top it off. We all stayed up pretty late on Wednesday, so we woke up pretty late on Thursday. We had tickets to go to a buffet at Paris… not just any buffet, but THE buffet. For a complete list of all the delights we found there, see previous entry. After the buffet, everyone was pretty tired. We ate ourselves into a stupor, I think. We all went back to the hotel, where wee decided we would take a half hour and relax, then we would go out for our last day After her half hour, Mom decided that she needed more time, so D, C and I left her and Uncle David at the hotel and went out to see the sights. We parked at the Palazzo and walked over to the Venetian, where they pumped some sort of nasty perfume in the air so strong that we could not breathe. We walked across the bridge of sighs and sighed. We looked at the gondolas, heard the gondolier singing and I found my mind dwelling on Stephen Sondheim’s “Do I Hear a Waltz?” After walking around the Venetian, we walked EVERYWHERE else. We went down to Miracle Mile. It was starting to get dark, and the guys with their devious little pieces of paper were out in force. It was a little unnerving. We found a one hour photo place that did not actually do one hour photos. We passed by a guy who was pretending to hand out little pieces of paper like everyone else, and refused his paper before wee realized that it was a dollar bill. I am actually pretty sure that it was a $20 bill. Depressing. Anyway, we got to Miracle Mile and wandered there a lot. D had some guy try to convince her to buy a $300 dollar flat iron that was on sale for $200. If only. We found a couple of cheap souvenir places and got some pretty ridiculous stuff. We found an awesome hat place called Hattitude. Also, D discovered a place called ALDO, where she got some pretty sick rings to add to her collection. All in all, a pretty fun place, even if we did have to walk everywhere. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing; we found Teuscher chocolates, where D got some of her favorite champagne truffles. C got some chocolate, too, but I didn’t. Personally I think that if I am going to pay $75 a pound for something it had better be gold. We walked back to the car around 7. Mom’s plane was supposed to leave at 9:30 and we were going to take her to the airport, but we found out that her plane was delayed, so we went to Whole Foods again instead. We got random foods for our road trip the next day. D, C and I were to leave Vegas (only one day late) and head to LA on Friday. We finally went back to the hotel, where I crashed. I had stayed up until 2 am on Wednesday, woken up at 7 and then walked all day. I was dead tired. C and D took Mom to the airport… her plane had been delayed now 3 times… and then came back and went to sleep. A slow moving and tiring day....

"Orange Colored Sky" -Unknown

2008-12-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

Jaeda-
GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
"The Way You Look Tonight" -Michael Buble

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Humble Me" -Nora Jones

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Soulmate" -Natasha Bedinfield

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Dancing" -Chris Issak

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"The Point of No Return" -Andrew Lloyd Weber

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Panis Angelicus" -Unknown

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"This Time" -Chris Isaak

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Strawberry Wine" -Deana Carter

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" -Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" -Brian Osburn

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Mouth on Fire" -Duncan Sheik

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"I'm Your Man" -Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Two Weeks in Hawaii" -Hellogoodbye

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"All Creatures of Our God and King" -Cathy Speer

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Stupid" -Sarah Maclachlan

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Star-Field on Red Lines" -Duncan Sheik

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Building a Mystery" -Sarah Maclachlan

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Don't Let Go" -En Vogue

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"The Mirror/Angel of Music" -Andrew Lloyd Weber

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"I Won't Say I'm in Love" -Cheryl Freeman (Hercules)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"The Winner Takes it All" -Meryl Streep

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Blasphemous Rumors" -Duncan Sheik

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Between the Minds" -Jack Savoretti

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Swing Low Sweet Chariot" -Eric Clapton

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Walking Away" -Jonny Lang

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Start Again" -Dunca Sheik

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Orange Colored Sky" -Unknown

1985 -Bowling for Soup

2008-12-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

Casey-
GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
“Fearless Heart” -Unknown Artist

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"No One’s Aware" –Jack Savoretti

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Apologies" – Jack Savoretti

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Veronique" – Pink Martini

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Mosiah 4" -- King Benjamin

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Edelwies" –Vienna Boy’s Choir

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"1 Nephi 20" -- Nephi

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"The Best is Yet to Come" – Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"What Hurts the Most" – Rascal Flatts

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Hang on Little Tomato" – Pink Martini

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Honey Honey" – Mamma Mia Soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"What About" – Chris Daughtry

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Holes" – Rascal Flatts

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Journey to the Past" – Anastasia Soundtrack

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Time after Time" – Cindy Lauper

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"500 Miles" – The Proclaimers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Kryptonite" – 3 Doors Down

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Safe" -- Travis

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Flying" – Chris Issak

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Blackout" -- Muse

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Strawberry Wine" – Deana Carter

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Ave Maria" – William Joseph

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"My Wish" – Rascal Flatts

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Pieces" – Rascal Flatts

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"I Stand all Alone” – Quest for Camelot Soundtrack

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Survivor" – Destiny’s Child

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"1985" – Bowling for Soup

IPOD Game -- D -- "A Case Of You" -- Joni Mitchell

2008-12-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
"Proud Father" -- Jon McLaughlin

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Lights, Camera, Action" --NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Humble Me" -- Norah Jones

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Black Rain" -- Jack Savoretti

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Dr. Frankenstein" -- Jack Savoretti

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Summertime" --NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Come What May" -- Mario Frangoulis

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Put It On My Tab" -- NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Apologize" -- One Republic

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Only The Lonely" -- Chris Isaak

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Bad Day" -- Daniel Powter

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"A Taste Of Honey" -- Lizz Wright

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Cry" -- Dan Wilson

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"World" -- Five For Fighting

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Put Your Records On" -- Corrine Bailey Rae

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Dirty Dancing" -- NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Something's Always Wrong" -- Toad The Wet Sprocket

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Poison" -- Bell Biv Devoe

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Dreaming With A Broken Heart" -- John Mayer

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Nothing Special" -- Duncan Sheik

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Get Together" -- Lizz Wright

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" -- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Crush" -- David Archuletta

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"I've Loved Enough To Know" -- Deana Carter

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Several Thousand" -- Jim Boggia

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"I'm All Right" -- Madeleine Peyroux

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"A Case Of You" -- Joni Mitchell

Day Five: How can I keep from eating?

2008-12-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

We went out to brunch this morning... what did we have you might ask? Well, let me tell you:
Bacon cheddar bread rolls, rosemary bread, bouillabaisse, gnocchi, ravioli, pasta alfredo, risotto, saffron rice with peas and carrots, scalloped potatoes, rosemary potatoes, 2 kinds of mashed potatoes, crepes, gouda, meunster, havarti, chevre, 6 or 7 kinds of olives, artichoke hearts, roasted roma tomatoes with mozzerella, creamed spinach, coq a vin, curried cauliflower, broccoli, seafood soup, breaded fish with cream sauce, prawns, sausage and kraut, quiche, marinated vegetables....
cannoli, fudge brownie, creme brulee, apricot tart, pumpkin chocolate pie, pain au chocolat, croissant, bananas foster & flan
CAN YOU SAY BUFFET?

Day Four: Of Blizzards and Broken things...

2008-12-18T01:49:00.000-08:00

So, we started out the day pretty much the same... slow start. We weren't sure what weather to prepare for. It had snowed a bit on Sunday, rained a lot on Monday, sunny/cold on Tuesday... it was a little unclear. So we figured we would dress for cold. There wasn't a lot we had planned. We were going to hang with David for a while, go to the Rio and check out the Venetian. We didn't really have anything set in stone. we were going to try to meet up with some friends from a while ago and whatever... lazy day, lazy plans. David came up and said that he might have a couple of ideas on what we could do. There was a ghost town somewhere out there... or we could go to Lake Havasu Azirona (yes I misspelled that on purpose) and see his hometown. That sounded like fun. I hadn't been back to Arizona since I was about 5 (unless you count passing through it on the way here) so I was up for it. We all agreed that we were Lake Havasu bound. As we got our things together and went downstairs, we discovered that David had lost his keys. He couldn't find them anywhere. He checked his room, his bag... everywhere. We finally decided that they had to have gotten locked in his car somehow. We checked out in the parking garage and, sure enough, his key was sitting perkily on the back seat, laughing at us. Oh crud. We spent two hours in that garage trying to get his car open. He pulled at the door to his car, stuck a wire hanger down the window and basically did everything he could think of to open that door. We had two security guys helping and there was nothing any of us could do. We listened to music, sang, took pictures. Generally we just had fun. Finally, C and D went inside and rode the glass elevator to the top of the hotel while mom and I went to get 'hot chocolate' from the coffee place inside. (I am using sarcastic quotes because we did not know until we were almost done drinking it that Starbucks puts espresso in their signature hot chocolate. That right there on top of the missing key should have warned us... but we just didn't see) As we got our drinks and D and C finished their elevator joy ride, david and the security officer got the car open. Yay! We were on our way. We stopped at in and out and got food, stopped at terrible herbst and got gas and then went on our merry way towards sunny Arizona. Or so we thought. C, D and I followed Uncle David and Mom along the freeway. As we drove things got brighter and brighter. Not because of the sun, no, because of the snow that was surrounding us. It was not long before we found ourselves in the middle of a FREAKING BLIZZARD. IN FREAKING NEVADA! We were calling back and forth between the cars deciding what to do. We decided to stop by the side of the road somewhere, get Mom in our car and say goodbye to David. He could continue on home and we would go back to Vegas. Without warning, David crossed two lanes of traffic and turned into a casino parking lot. We couldn't get across those lanes fast enough to make the same turn, so Mom and Uncle David told us to keep going until we could turn around, they would wait for us in the casino. We went 5 miles and a half hour further. Traffic was NOT moving. Finally, we turned around. We were having fun. We ate Smarties from Canada and opened the windows to the horizontal snow, turning the car into a snow globe. We took pictures of everything and blasted music. It was great. We got to the casino parking lot and watched as the reader board our front blasted the words 'Poor Weather Conditions Ahead, free coffee inside' to the poor people stuck in traffic. We called Mom when we got there and tried to decide if she was coming out or if we were going in. Finally, we just decided to go in. It was freezing, slippery and slushy outside. We went in and met up with mom, when we found out that David was missing again. We looked around, couldn't find him. His phone went straight to voicemail. Nothing. We were trying to decide whether we should just leave without saying goodbye when mom came rushing over to tell us that we needed to find security or something. David had just fallen in the parking lot... and broken his leg. Yes, that is what I said, broken his leg. We rushed outside, careful of the slushy snow that covered everything, and found David sitting on the ground. His leg was stretched out in front of him and he was shaking pretty badly. We got security over, along with about 10 other people. Everyone was trying to decide what to do. We saw cars spinning out everywhere in the street and the parking lot. The ambulance said that they would be a while. We waited outside with him. They casino personnel covered David with blankets, coats... anything that they could to keep him warm. I tried to lighten the situation with humor... he didn't appreciate that much. We surreptitiously snuck photos that he also wouldn't appreciate. It took the ambulance an hour to get there. It wasn't until we got to the hospital that we discovered that they came from less than 5 miles away. The traffic was just that bad. Mom drove David's car to the hospital while D, C and I drove Sid, my car. We waited in that hospital for 7 hours. After 4 hours they determined that the leg was broken in two places. You know how they figured it out? They took him in for a CAT scan. Morons... a simple X-ray wouldn't do. C D and I had to go to an auto place to get chains for my tires and a new headlight. We also replaced David's windshield wiper, as the one he had was cracked in half. We tried to get dinner for all of us, but ended up with nasty crap that cost way too much and tasted like chemical cardfood. In the end, they wouldn't let David eat anything anyway in case they had to take him in for surgery. I would be afraid of surgery from that hospital... The techs that took him in for the CT lay him on the gurney with his feet sticking out the end and pushed him through doorways feet first... using his feet to open the doors... yeah he did have a broken leg thanks for asking. They apparently didn't care. they put him on some sort of psychotic drug that had him freaking out, then another drug to calm him down. They also said that their 'bone doctor' wasn't in, so they would splint it tonight and we could come back tomorrow to get it cast. Come back tomorrow? What pills are they taking? D, C and I finally came back to Vegas (on clear roads, by the way) to wait at the hotel room for Mom and David to come back from Henderson. Yeah, did I mention that we only made it 20 miles outside of Vegas. This whole thing happened within spitting distance of our hotel practically. What the heck?
I should say, though, that through this whole thing I know our Father in Heaven has been watching out for us. I am not sure that what happened here was His design or a result of our bad choices, but I am sure that He has not left us alone in this. There were many other things that could have gone wrong, many worse things that could have happened. We had good people around us that helped us through it all, and we had angel to bear us up. I only hope that they are okay being with us in Vegas. This town still makes me uneasy, but I no longer fear it. I wouldn't want to live here, but I like it much, much better than I ever thought i would.
As for Uncle David... well... it is 230 am here, and he has been at the hospital for 10 hours. Mom should be bringing him here very soon, and we are waiting for them. (Well, I am, D and C have passed out on the bed)He is not in the best of moods, and he is very drugged. I know that he is not happy with this day, and I fear that he regrets coming to see us. I regret only that he is hurt. I think that this day ended up with a much more interesting story than any of us could have planned. I wonder what tomorrow holds...

Day Three: Then things started to go south...

2008-12-18T01:31:00.000-08:00

We woke up late again yesterday. We took a long time getting out and about. It didn't help that we were trying to resolve our hotel room mixup. They were chargin us for all kinds of crap and we were not happy. Add that to the fact that the ice machine kept waking us up throughout the night and blah blah blah we were getting a different room. We were supposed to check out of our current room, then check into the new one. as a courtesy to us (I think that they need to really learn what the word courtesy means) they were going to let us stay in our room until our next room was ready, but they didn't let us know if our room was ready or not. And they didn't let us know... and they didn't... you get the pic. So we sat around waiting for them to call, then finally decided that we needed to get out and do something. So we left the room around one o'clock. We drove out to the Las Vegas temple. The difference between the strip and the temple is laughable. There is a peace and a wonderful feeling that comes just from standing on the ground outside the temple. We took pictures and wandered. When we left the temple we went to Ross and each bought something. We got a cooler for our Whole Foods food and a couple of other things. Then we followed the Stratosphere back to our hotel. We were waiting for Uncle David to come so that we could hang out with him, so we went to get our new rooms situated until he came out. Yeah, that was wierd. They didn't have any record of our new arrangements, so mom had to arrange again. We got our stuff out of our room and up to our new room with no help from the hotel staff thank you very much. then we decided that rather than wait for David, we would get a couple of other things on our list out of the way. We knew that David wanted to take us to Freemont St., so we decided to go to NYNY and MGM before he got there. When we got to MGM, we went to Emerils and got some 'banana creme pie' that tasted really good but I would probably never crave. Then we went to see the lions. We felt really really bad for the lions, because I would hate to be stuck in a huge fake plastic habitat all day while people pointed and stared at me. David called and said he would meet us there, so we sat around and waited for him. And waited and waited and... finally he got there, right as we found out that the lions are actually not stuck in the habitat all day, they actually come from a farm on the edge of town, where they live with the other 25 lions. They are traded out every 5 hours and only come to the casino 2 or 3 times a week. I felt better. Uncle David joined us as we wandered (for a very short amount of time) around NYNY and took pictures with us as we walked on the fake brooklyn bridge. He was a good sport about it, though he didn't really like having his pic taken. Then we went to Freemont St. It was cool. I considered, as I had been considering all week, whether or not I should just drop a quarter in the slot machine (I decided against it in the end). We bought postcards really really cheap and saw the music show on the ceiling. C and I were on TV for a short amount of time as we talked to the most awkward host guy ever. We had fried twinkies (which I didn't even try) and fried oreos (which were surprisingly delicious) and got mardi gras beads. It was loads of fun, in spite of the lack of smashed penny machines. We headed back to the car, back tot he hotel and said good night. We didn't crash as quickly, but crash we did eventually... the best is yet to come and babe won't it be fine...

Day Two: Everything we wanted and more...

2008-12-18T00:55:00.000-08:00

So, when we were at the hotel room we made a list of everything we wanted to do in Vegas:
See a Show of some sort
See the
--Bellagio(water show, pastry shop, blown glass, Christmas decorations)
--New York New York (brooklyn bridge)
--Venetian (gondolas, opera singers, rialto bridge)
--Mirage (volcano, tigers, Beatles tribute)
--MGM Grand (Lions, Emerils)
--Paris (everything)
Show at the Rio
Whole Foods
M&M Store
Carnegie Deli
Etc. Etc. Etc.
So we planned each day out, and Monday we had a lot to do. We were to go to breakfast, go to Whole Foods, go to the M&M Store early to get 1/2 price tickets and then go to the Bellagio and the Mirage. Things didn't quite go as planned in the beginning. We didn't make it to the M&M Store as early as we thought we would, so D and C were in line for a while. Mom and I wandered around the store itself while they stood in line and tried to decide on a show. We weren't allowed to know which one, but they did want us to decide between Mamma Mia and Cirque Du Soliel's Mystere. We couldn't decide, so they did. We got tickets for 'a show' at Treasure Island, which was perfect because it was right next to the other two hotels we were looking at. We also discovered that, contrary to what would make sense, the Carnegie Deli was at Caesar's Palace rather than New York New York. Caesar's was also right next to the other hotels. So after going (back to the hotel room to get coats and money) to Whole Foods (barely missing a fire alarm there, then meeting our new best friend whose name I do not know but who loved us for our deep and extensive knowledge of cheese) and eating an AMA-zing lunch, we parked the car and walked around Vegas... and walked... and walked. We walk a lot on vacation I have noticed. I should go on vacation more often, I might lose weight. Of course, we eat a lot on vacation too, so that probably wouldn't work well. After parking as TI (or treasure Island) we walked to the Bellagio. Wow. We saw all of their nasty gaudy Christmas decorations, as well as this huge-ungous blown glass ceiling design of flowers. We went to that one pastry shop and saw the worlds largest chocolate fountain that pours three different kinds of chocolate down from the ceiling to the floor. They also had amazing chocolate designs like Elvis and a Ratatouille cake. We decided that we had to get a culinary confection of some sort, so we settled on a choclate Nutella thingy that was oh-so-good and a Dulce De Leche bread thingy that was even better! We sat and demolished those, then headed out for the light show. The first light show that we caught most of was to the song "She's the One" It was great. We made it to the other side of the water and waited for the next one, which started about twenty minutes later. It was to the Alleluia Chorus from the Messiah. It was astounding. As we were leaving, they did another, this to the song My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Wow. We crossed the street and went to Paris. We walked around looking at everything, tried to find water that wasn't purified or $4, settled for tap water and a huge crepe. The crepe was stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, mozzerella and boursin (though I couldn't actually taste the boursin). It was yummy deliciousness. after the crepe and the agua, we went out to Caesar's Palace and wandered looking at all the amazingness (we also found out that Carnegie was not there either, but was at the Mirage)When we went to the Mirage, we discovered that it was $15 each to see the tigers, no ta. So we went to the large psychadelic hallways and took pictures with the Beatles cutouts. That was groovy. Yes, the day is still going. We found our way from the Mirage to Treasure Island, where we wandered around a couple of stores and found the line for Mystere. We waited in line for a long long long time, then found our seats. Wow, our seats were good. We were right up alongside the stage. We could see everything and everything could see us. I am going to let D or C blog about the show, because now, three days later, I am still speechless. It was... There were... And the... yeah. After the show we had all pretty much hit a wall. It was made of brick and gave us instant dreams of pillows and sleepiness. Except Casey, she was pretty wired. We weren't quite done either. Even though it was now midnight, we had to go to Carnegie Deli for a sandwich. We got Fries, Corned beef hash and a Reuben. Wait, did I say Reuben? No, I meant ten pounds of meat on top of two slices of rye bread, covered in five pounds of saurkraut and swiss cheese. We split it between the four of us, ate seconds of it, and took the rest in a to go box. huge. We skipped and jumped our merry way back to the car and went back to the hotel, where we crashed yet again... more to come...

Day One Vegas: We're Driving, We're Driving

2008-12-18T00:42:00.000-08:00

So... it is my turn to blog... prepare yourself because a lot has happened and I am going to tell you ALL of it! Casey and I left Rexburg in the afternoon on Saturday. We were headed to SLC to meet up with my mom and sister. Then we were all heading to VEGAS! Yippee. To tell you the truth, I was not totally excited about the trip. I mean, I was happy to spend time with my mom and sisters, but Vegas has never really been on my wishlist, but whatever... it was an adventure. We drove FOREVER! We got into SLC while Mom and D were out to dinner, so Casey and I walked around temple square for an hour or so. Then we went to a little place called the OBT or Off Broadway Theatre, and met up with Mom and Danita to watch the play Its a Wondrous Life. Yes, I got the title right. OBT is a spoof/improv theatre that specializes in wierd. The play was great. It was funny and strange. After the play we went and crashed at Russ' house, then headed to Vegas the next day. We stopped over in St. George and visited the vistor's venter at the temple there. It was SO beautiful! Then we continued our squished little journey towards Vegas. It was a long car ride, and it was just getting dark when we got there. We first went to our hotel, dropped off all of our stuff and went to get something to eat. We were trying to keep it simple, so we went to in-and-out burger, where their chocolate shakes are 'light colored' (aka vanilla) and their burgers have a secret ingredient (grilled onions, yum!) Then we drove up and down the strip looking at all of the ginormous buildings and trying not to get in a car wreck as we couldn't really keep our eyes on the road. We finally went back to the hotel and crashed again (not the car, just ourselves) in our dinky little hotel room with the ice machine outside that, in my mother's words, sounded like a jet engine.... not even close to being finished...

Happy Birthday To ME!!!

2008-11-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

Several years ago my sisters and I went to Canada for my birthday. We only had one night to spend and it's one our favorite memories!

So it has become one of our traditions to go to Canada for my birthday, this year (as with the first) it happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day. While many of you were stuffing yourselves with turkey and ham and sweet potatoes -- J,C and I were playing in Canadia!!

We started our adventure in Seattle on Wednesday. My sistas picked me up from school and we headed out. Our destination was a place called Costas Opa! a greek restaurant that came highly recommended. We're greek, we love food, we love greek food and this place was YUMMY!!!! We took pics of all of the food we consumed on this trip. I guess we could rename this blog "All the food we ate and LOVED!" anyway, after a quick visit to the Seattle Troll, we had the most delicious tyropitakia. I also got free birthday baklava. We then met Aunt Debi, Sunny and Dakota for a second chance at TWILIGHT!

tyropitakia

I LOVED IT!!!!! it really was better the second time.

Well, we slept for a couple of hours and woke up to Aunt Debi cooking us delicious breakfast, including a small birthday cake!

We drove to Canadia. Mr. Grumpy was at the gate, but let us into Canada for the night. After checking in, we went to Granville Island for lunch. I think it was the best lunch we ever had. We found bits and bites from the different stands in the market. Some greek olives, feta cheese, hummus, rosemary bread and cheese and pepperoni... I am hungry just thinking about it!

We took a drive through Stanley Park on our way to Grouse Mountain. They have this really great gondola/cable car that takes you a mile up to the top of the mountain. Once there, we took advantage of the offerings at the chalet. Meaning, we watched a couple movies on their "IMAX style" theater. yeah, not IMAX... not even close... anyway, it is right before ski season and if it weren't for the convention going on, i think we would have been the only ones there. They have 2 grizzly bears that live on the mountain and we were sooooooo excited to see them. They said it was only a 5 minute walk... we went on the bear hunt and came up empty handed. Well, not completely... we found some MONSTER large statues of sports guys overlooking the ski resort. We wandered until we could wander no more and then C and I went ICE SKATING!!!! It had been FOREVER since either of us had gone. True confession-- I used what I call the "ice walker" for the first few rounds. There was nothing else to hold onto. We held hands and skated like we were kids again. Then headed in for some hot chocolate and spiced cider. We had an extra treat of a gospel choir to serenade us.

After out mountain adventure, we headed to dinner. Our choice was a Malaysian place called the Banana Leaf. YUM! fried bananas and ice cream for birthday/thanksgiving.

After our usual toasting time when we got back to the hotel, We CRASHED hard. I totally forgot to open my birthday presents.

We headed home the next morning and we planned on NOT going to Seattle, but as we were driving through, there was an accident and looooong delays, so we went to Pike's Market for a bit. SO FUN!!!

I love the adventures that I get to take, especially the ones that I take with my sistas!

NKOTB Obsession!!!

2008-11-25T12:48:00.001-08:00

SISTAS!

20 Years BABY!!

We all heard the the New Kids were back. After hearing about the reunion tour, I debated on getting some tickets. I know someone that could get me some tix to the Rose Garden and thought I would try that connection to get some seats. I couldn't afford much, so if that didn't work out I wasn't gonna cry about it. But about a month or so ago my friend Jill went to the NKOTB concert in New Jersey. Immediately after the concert, she bought floor seats to the D.C. show! After hearing how AWESOME the show was, I made an effort to find some tix.

Jen and Breezy and I are celebrating our 20th Anniversary! We have been best friends for 20 years and I don't know what I would do without them. We decided we had to do something BIG to celebrate. Caribbean cruise was the decision, but as is the way of life... other more important things came up, like foot surgery and car repairs. I convinced Breezy and Jen that NKOTB would be THE PERFECT 20th celebration. They weren't quite as convinced as I was, but they love me and we found $20 tix, so they relented. And boy are they SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad they did. B flew in from Houston and I flew from Oregon and we met Jen in SLC for the weekend.

There are no words to describe what happened at the concert. But I'll try to put a few together for you. It was like my 30 year old somewhat mature self was overcome by a SCREAMING 15 year old girl. I found myself jumping up and down screaming at the top of my lungs. At one point I thought I was gonna pass out, I had to sit down. It was so great to just react and be and not worry about the person next to you thinking you are a TOTAL FREAK... because they are doing the SAME THING!

I am a really lucky girl, cause not only was I there with my bff's, My sisters were there too! J converted C to the NKOTB fan base and they got tix with us. I got to sit in the middle, so MY GIRLS were on my right and MY SISTAS were on my left. IT WAS AMAZAZING! A perfect way to celebrate our BFF anniversary and a magnificent sister memory!

addendum ---- this concert was SO AMAZING that I went 2 more times!! I drove to Vancouver BC with a friend of a friend. We were in row 27 on the FLOOR!!!! I touched Donnie and Jonathan!!! *sigh* and toward the end of the show, I snuck up to the eighth row!!

I also went to the show in Tacoma with my girls from the 'Couve. I snuck onto the floor for the B stage show and touched Donnie and Joey AGAIN!!!!!

Enjoy the pics, and remember to breathe!

D loves Vacations

2008-10-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

I LOVE vacations. I really wish I could be on vacation ALL the time. Most recently I spent a week in LA. As I sit in physics class trying to understand how to find the sin of angle theta and the velocity of the rocket our teacher fired off in the parking lot next to the science building, I find myself daydreaming about the places I've been. I still have the tan lines from my San Diego sunburn, so I know that I don't have to think about physics forever. There are days that all I have to worry about is whether or not I remember my sunblock. Thank goodness for vacations!

I'm already planning the trips I'll take on the next school break. Looking forward to Canadia on my birthday/Thanksgiving. And a quick weekend to see NKOTB with my best friends for our 20th anniversary. And Vegas in December with my mom and sistas.

Stay tuned... but until then, enjoy some pics from my fun in the sun.

Santa Monica Pier

San Diego Wild Animal Park

me and my buddy David

Beluga Tail

the Budweiser Horse

Me and THE Mouse!

California Adventure

Teacups!

The posse with goofy

me and my pal Allyson

The Wubulous World of... BYU-Idaho

2008-10-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hey! I have decided that it has been much too long since I have blogged here about anything! I am here at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, and there is just not a lot to say. School has been a blast so far, with C here and so many other C-siders. I have been meeting lots and lots of new people. Nearly everyone here is so friendly, and the teachers tend towards the cool. It is nice to be living a different life here than I had previously been able to live. I am still not sure what the future holds, but for now, I am content with the present. I guess the point of this little entry was to let everyone know that I am still alive! So, now you know. We will be having much more to write come November and December. I am looking forward to it all!

D on the Deschutes

2008-08-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY WENT RAFTING!!!!!!!!! At the last minute, I got to join a rafting expedition down the Deschutes. It was AWESOME! I knew I would love it. I only had about 4 hours of sleep (this will be explained in a different post), but strangely had enough energy to rock it down the river. I think my favorite part had to be when our whole side of the raft fell out at Boxcar. At one point, I was under the raft, holding onto the rope and my paddle for dear life. I also loved pushing Adam off the front of the boat, when Travis tackled Crystal off the raft into the water, and the water fights with random strangers. All in all, it was a fabulous day on the river... as the pictures will show.

Cleaning it up

2008-07-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

I'm changing things around on the blog. So all the pics that used to be along the edge will be here now, so i don't lose them forever.

tea with Mr. Darcy!

stained glass
get it????

pretty

soldier in Bath
The Strand

too close?

women rock!

ferry tales
posers

cannon beach?
we've been told

elvis and c share ice cream

karaoke

where W.B. Yeates is buried

Isaac's HORRIBLE HOSTEL... but soooo pretty

Cashel Castle

Paddywagon Day1

Puzzels the giraffe in Philly

casey's graduation

yummy salad

crazy family

My 2 cents

2008-07-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you might have figured it out, I don’t really like to blog. Wait, that’s not true, I mean I love going back and reading them and I love having the blog, but there are always so many other things to do. However, here we are in the car heading home and I am just sitting here and I want to write down how much fun I am having before I forget it, so here I am…C.

I loved the San Juan Islands, it was such a relaxing time and it was so fun, we didn’t really explore all that much, in fact a good portion of our time was spent laying on a blanket with a good book and an amazing view. Like I said before, I loved it.

Seattle…WOW!!! Of course I’ve been there before, but I’ve never gone to U Dub and done the canoes…I must say “CASEY AND DANITA”S WILDLIFE ADVENTURE” (*said in a very loud voice and a terrible Australian accent*) was the highlight of Seattle. However I must say the present I bought for myself at Pikes Market was tres fabu!

It was nice to stay at Aunt Debi’s in a real bed, on the other hand if we weren’t sharing the back-of-the-van-bed it is about the most comfy bed you could lay in !

Now, the real highlight of the entire trip in my opinion…D and C’S PORT ANGELES/FORKS/LA PUSH ADVENTURE!!! (*said in a loud voice and a bad Australian accent*) Like I told D, in my head I know its not real, if only the rest of me knew…seeing the places, going to the places, eating at the places where our favorite series is set, it is not only breath taking, but makes it more real. When we were at the school I could just imagine Jacob riding up on his motorcycle to steal Bella away, or when we were driving to La Push, I was guessing at where exactly the treaty line was and then imagining Edward sitting in his Volvo…waiting.

It was cool to talk to some of the people in Forks, to see what they thought of the “twilight ordeal,” I thought it could be irritating at times, but they loved us! I was amazed at how right SM was about Forks as well its just this Podunk town, kinda cool, but nothing. We need to start a store…D will probably talk about that later…

And now we are going home  I’m definitely not ready, but I guess all good vacations have to end…on a side note all bad vacations have to end too…back to work, back to life, back to institute with brother Farmer….oops, I didn’t do my mission prep homework …it was a grand vacation with plenty of AMAZING ADVENTURES (*said in a loud voice and a bad Australian accent*)…plus now I have some Ideas for a weekend get-away :D

Until Next time, this is C on the GRAND ADVENTURES OF MY LIFE! (*said in a loud voice and a bad Australian accent*)

TWILIGHT CRAZIES!!!!!!!!! yes... i mean us

2008-07-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

So this is the part when we really shouldn’t admit how insane we are. It would be smarter not to even write this down, that way there is no documentation of our insanity. Alas, I will throw reason to the wind and embrace the crazy that I am. A movie quote comes to mind… “Honey, you need to be smarter about showing your crazy side.”

On our way to the San Juan’s, C said “We should go to Forks!!!” So the seed was sown and the decision pretty much made to take the scenic route home. The really scenic route. I finished reading Eclipse again a few days ago, so Twilight was on the brain. After leaving Seattle, we headed toward Port Angeles. If you have never been on the Olympic Penninsula – plan to do it. It is breathtaking. We kept pulling over to take pictures that don’t do justice to what our eyes beheld. The Olympic National Park is HUGE and beautiful.

We made it to Port Angeles around 2:30pm and planned dinner and a movie. We drove around trying to find an Italian place so we could have – what else? MUSHROOM RAVIOLI!!! We saw a place called Michael’s Divine Dining and decided to splurge. They had pasta on the menu and it looked great. We decided it was a yes and walked across the street to check movie times. As we got to the other side, what did we find??? BELLA ITALIA!!!

It was like a sign from heaven. Michael’s was out and Bella was in! They didn’t open until 4pm so we had some time to kill in town. The closest we found to a gory movie was The Incredible Hulk at 5:15pm. We had passed a bookstore on the way and headed there because we love bookstores. We got distracted a couple of times on the way… once at a bead store where the owner showed us how to wrap a sari.

We walked into the restaurant and what did we see but this cute table…

We knew we were in the right place. The only thing… no mushroom ravioli on the menu. BUT my smoked salmon ravioli was delish. And C had a mushroom tortellini in pesto sauce. A mushroom may have found its way into my ravioli…

I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. And I loved Mr. Stark at the end!!

We made our way into Forks pretty late, but we were able to find the high school.

We headed to La Push to find a camping site. Unfortunately we didn’t, but we camped at Mora Beach pretty close to La Push.

This brings us to Thursday the 26th of June. We slept in. I like sleeping… not sure if I would make a good vampire. Our neighbors were leaving to backpack through the Olympic Beaches and unloaded their perishables on us, including one organic green pepper, 5 bananas and 2 bricks of cheese. I made some Sunday Pasta for breakfast… YUM! I digress. I think I also like food too much to be a vampire. We found our way past

Until we got to First Beach – although there was no sign. It is a gorgeous rocky beach. C and I loaded our pockets with beautiful colored rocks. There were also about eleventy billion perfect skipping stones. We were there for a couple of hours before the rain forced us onward… TO FORKS!!!

It’s hard not to feel a it foolish stopping for these pics, but then you realize that there are others right behind you taking the same pics too. We didn’t stop at Subway for the Twilight Sandwich, or Sully’s Drive-In for the Bella Burger, but we couldn’t resist going by the hospital

The VERY enthusiastic woman at the Chamber was so helpful. She welcomed us each with our own “Twilight Package”, with maps and even a ziplock of sand from first beach. We got our pic taken for their website, and welcomed back for Stephenie Meyer Day in September.

So, we have made the trek to Forks and La Push. I even have an apple magnet to prove it.

Seattle!!! Tues -- D

2008-06-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

All went perfectly on Seattle Day! We woke up early, got to the ferry early and ate our yummy cereal on board. C taught me how to play German Speed. She won. Then we napped until we got into Anacortes Port. It was a GORGEOUS day. Our drive was nice and we made it to the University of Washington about 10am. I wanted C to experience one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in Seattle. We rented a canoe!!!

“C and D’s WILDLIFE ADVENTURE” started with a sighting of a cute duck family.

The Neeter Skeeter Beater Bites were annoying little buggers that got all over us. We saw three turtles and some bigger ducks that may or may not have been geese.

And last but not least --- BALD EAGLES!!!! Really. There were 4 of them circling in the blue sky above us.

After a couple hours, and a delicious snack of watermelon, we needed to be done. It was hot and our arms were tired.

So we returned the canoe and headed to IVARS for yummy fish and chips on the waterfront, followed by soft serve ice cream for dessert.

Pike’s Market was soooooooo crowded. People kept running into us when we moved too slow or took too much time in front of the various booths. The salmon at $21 per pound would have been our dinner, but it was a bit out of our budget. So sad. Aunt Debi was gracious enough to offer the “Rebo Hostel” as accommodations for the evening. We took her a couple of bouquets in appreciation. One had some beautiful peonies and sweet william and the other of fresh cilantro. I have to admit that I was hoping she would make her yummy salsa. And she did. We finished the day watching Enchanted. C went to bed before the movie ended and I went to bed immediately after. It was a long and wonderfully exhausting day.

Oh yeah? Well I am having... fun... too

2008-06-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Or not. Well, I have now turned green with envy at all the wonderful things that my sisters are doing without me. Not that I begrudge them their trip, not at all, I just wish that I could have gone. It is kind of lonely being all the way out here. Next semester, C and I had better go on some awesome trips! And D better get her butt up here to go on some with us.

So, life in Rexburg. Not a whole lot to tell. I have met what seems like thousands of people in the last three months. I met a LOT of cute guys who are afraid of marriage, dating, commitment and fat girls, though not necessarily in that order. It's not bad, though. I am learning, which is something I have long wanted to do... and I may be coming slowly to the realization that I am not as stupid as I feel. One can only hope.

I don't get out much, I did go to Montana, and decided that I could happily live in a car on the side of the highway if it meant that I got to look at those mountains all day. I also went to Beaver Dick Park (yes, that is its real name, and no one seems to know why) for the first time and quickly got my fill of mosquitos. Literally, I was breathing them in. I am sure that I ingested quite a few, but I have blocked that particular detail of memory. I think. I went to the sand dunes, and realized just how stupid show-off-y guys with dune bikes are when they feel like being so.

I need a vacation.

C Falls -- Sunday -- D

2008-06-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday we planned to go to Friday Harbour to go to church. We missed the ferry. It was lame.
We went to the library (free wi-fi) and got a number from the church website for the meeting place on Orcas. We heard from them at about noon. Church was at 8:45. Oh, and church was at the library... ugh! Needless to say, we missed our church meetings that day. Improvising, we went to this beautiful spot on the waterfront and brought our blankets and conference Ensign. We each chose a talk and read it out loud. It was pretty cold, so we covered up with the blanket and ended up sleeping. For HOURS! It was crazy. We slept and slept and slept, and then we slept some more. We finally got up when I had to eat. I had a vision of a chocolate old fashioned doughnut with chocolate glaze and the cute ball sprinkles.

We really needed to get the blood pumping, so we hiked to Cascade Falls. It was only 3 miles round trip. C just couldn't resist and went IN the falls. It was freezing, and I think it affected her judgement, because on the hike back she told me about the day after the alien invasion when some humans will live peaceably with the aliens who wear clothes made of thyrinomine which looks a lot like silver. About 20 minutes later, C falls... I only felt a little bad for laughing, 'cause she was ok. Just a bit scraped up. She likes her war wounds. Get it? C Falls... Cascade Falls... C falls... ha!

We were gearing up for a rousing game of cribbage after dinner, but we fell asleep. At like 8pm. Seriously, after sleeping all day, we went to bed early and didn't get up until about 10am on Monday. And they say that you can't "catch up" on your sleep.

LOPEZ!!!!!!

2008-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

okay,so, i know its monday and i suck, but I am finally here :P p.s. its C. so on friday we went to LOPEZ ISLAND!!! we woke up pretty early and ate breakfast, blah blah blah, we got to LOPEZ ISLAND!!! we took the bikes and about died going over the hills we had to walk part of the way because it was just up and down up and down for four miles to lopez village, but when we got there we just relaxed. It was probably the most relaxing day i've had in a long long time. we ate lunch and took a nap in the park before we found this cute little shop with these really nice smelling soaps. There wasn't much in the village but what was there was really cute. there was this organic store that had everything from vegetables to candy bars to meat, and all of the produce and the meat was local :) and it was the only picture we took on Lopez Island :P

then we found a bookshop. it was so cute and the shopkeeper was really nice and we had a great discussion about books, it was really cool because all the books she was talking about i had read so i felt really smart :P anyway, after we left the book shop we made our way back to the ferry. the ride back was a lot easier than the ride there which was really nice...in fact we got there an hour before the ferry was coming...so instead of waiting for our ferry we made a quick change of plans and took the ferry that was already there...heading to friday harbor!!!

so we took a sneak peak of the san juan island we went to another book shop and had another great conversation with the book keeper, we talked about pink martini...it was great! then we had some icecream and walked around. We changed our plans again too. We were going to stay in Orcus on saturday and then come back on sunday but we decided to come back to friday harbor on saturday instead.

So when the time came we went back on the ferry to lopez island and then we were going to catch the next ferry leaving lopez heading to Orcus in an hour. we got back and we waited...and waited...and waited. We chatted with the nice ferry man who was actually the one who convinced us to go to friday harbor and we talked to a sheriff that was going to cannon beach on tuesday! we also played cribbage...a lot of it! because the ferry was AN HOUR LATE!!! we just sat there playing cribbage for like two hours...danita won...

when the ferry finally got there we headed home to our campsite. we got there at about midnight, made our bed and went to sleep :)

...it was a good day!

Orcas, Alpacas and Chinese people

2008-06-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

We decided to spend all day Saturday on the San Juan Island. There is a shuttle that will take you all over the island and the lady at the bookshop mentioned the farmer's market... we LOVE those -- so we were sold... and we DIDN'T bring the bikes (my body is still complaining)

After a bit of a lie in we had a delicious breakfast and left to catch the ferry. A little after we left the park we passed 3 hitch-hikers one of them with an adorable smile. We don't pick up scraggly ruffian strangers, although we thought about it. A few miles later we mentioned them again. Now, I'm not sure if it was his smile, or reading the scriptures that made us feel all Christian, but we decided to turn around and go get them. We were feeling pretty good, until we got back to the park and we hadn't passed them. At least we tried to do the right thing...

About 500 yards later was a single girl with her thumb in the air. So we tossed her in the back of the van with the deflated air mattress and scads of unorganized food (including a watermelon that kept rolling around). Turns out she's from Eugene but is living here now, working for the summer or something. Guess she's saving up her $$ for a car?

Anyway, after the delay, we were a little pressed for time and by the time we parked the car and ran down the hill, we could see that the ferry was about to pull out -- we were sooooooo bummed, we needed only 2 more minutes and the next ferry didn't leave for another 4 hrs. THANKFULLY there were 2 ladies closer to the ferry that started running, so they waited and then WE started running. *phew* we barely made it, BUT WE MADE IT!!!!
View from the ferry--

We got to Friday Harbour in time to check out the market for about 30 min. before our shuttle left to take us exploring. We found the most delicious goat cheese and this other guy was selling mustard sauces in about 8 varieties. We bought the dill caper mustard sauce. YUM! You could tell the locals, they all had their baskets filled with market goodies and chatted with the different vendors about how things were going. I got some great ideas for Cannon Beach's own farmers market. I hope I can get a booth.

We made our way back to the dock and found the blue shuttle with the crazy driver. He kept a running commentary about the island and it's locals. He was a bit pessimistic talking about the people who buy houses they don't need and the "dream houses" that satisfy for a year before they are sold again to someone with a different dream. He mentioned more than 5 times the fact that the islanders don't do things the way things are done everywhere else. He seemed so intent on being different. Interesting. C and I saw some standing stones and asked him what they are. "Well they're stones that someone stood up." Enlightening, don't you think? Only someone that lives on San Juan Island would think to stand stones on their end arranged in a circle in an open field?

We passed the lavender farm, no purple... the spring was too wet.

Our next stop was Lime Kiln State Park, aka "whale watch park" We had an hour here and took our lunch on the rocks near the water at the lookout.

A younger girl with great eyesight saw the whale several times before C and I did. It was beautiful. I didn't have binoculars or even my glasses, but I was able to see the Orca whale that swam by. We saw it spout and jump and roll. SO COOL! There was a pod headed our way. Unfortunately, we had to catch the shuttle if we wanted to make it to see the Alpacas and still have a ride back to the harbour in time to catch the ferry. So, we only saw the lone whale and not the whole family, but it was GREAT!!!

The alpacas were SO CUTE!!! Their little faces have so much character. The littlest one was only 4 days old. While we were fawning over their cuteness, a lady came out to feed them apple slices for a snack and wet their legs. They LOVED that. The ladies and babies were first and they were so polite they took turns and everything. The gents were in a different area and loved the water as much as the girls did.

Our last stop was Roache Harbour. We saw a marina and the old lime kilns and a wedding. Not much else was there, but it was charming in it's own right. Before we knew it, we had to go back to Friday Harbour. We had a bit of time to kill and found the storefront for the lavender farm. Household products and goodies all with lavender. We bought ourselves some almond lemon lavender cookies and lavender lemonade. We browsed a GREAT used bookstore called Serendipity. I found a collector's copy of Jane Eyre and C and I each closed our eyes and picked a book off the shelf. Just in case it became our new favorite book. ummm... i got one called The Fat Man, I read it and it is not my new favorite book.

We had a great day on the Island and finished the day relaxing at camp. Oh, I just realized that I didn't tell you about the Chinese people. Our interesting guide for the 1st leg of our journey told us all about the days when the San Juan Islands were used to smuggle things from Canadia into America. Things such as booze, wool and Chinese people who were used as slave labor to build THE railroad. There you have it... our day of Orcas, Alpacas and Chinese people.

hiking through the wilderness

2008-06-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so last night when we got here we unloaded the car and set up our bed, which look amazingly comfy, we then grabbed some water and headed off to hike one of the many trails in this beautiful park! it was about three miles around one of the lakes and it was gorgeous! we started off at a boat house and followed a trail that twisted its way through the forest, but gave us an amazing view of the lake.

every once in a while we saw something special, towards the beginning of our trip we saw an amazing reflection of a couple trees in the lake and then later we saw what looked like a bonzi tree growing over the lake, which i promtly started to climb until I sat on a branch directly over the water. i almost wanted to fall in because the water was so beautiful but alas I did not.

Another time we saw a squirrel that I named fred, we took some cool pictures, we then saw three deer, its funny cause it seems like the animals here aren't very afraid of humans, we got pretty close to all of the animals before they slowly walked a few feet further away, it was cool

our hike took about fourty-five minutes and before we knew it we were back where we started. It was nice to get out and strech our legs after being cramped up in the car so long :) we felt really good.

After the hike we went back to the car and ate some dinner, a yummy bagel, an orange and some cold veggies (we didn't want to cook anything:P ) after dinner we read for awhile and then went to sleep. I love it here! it's so relaxed and I can't wait to do some touristing today!

CAMPING!!!

2008-06-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

C and I are on another adventure, a bit shorter this time. After about 12 HOURS!!!! of travelling, we made it into our fabulous campsite at Moran State park on Orcas Island. Our day started sooooooooooo early... we left home at 6:30 am and afer a few errands (like stopping at Bagels by the Sea) we were on the way!

We got to drive along the Columbia River for a while and it was gorgeous! I am almost absolutley for certain that I saw a bald eagle. We really do live in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

We did what you usually do on a road trip. I read while C drove until she couldn't stand it anymore and we talked and talked and listened to music and talked. We decided that we would cast real people in our make-believe movie based on Stephenie Meyer's book The Host. We didn't get very far. We couldn't remember people's names and had a really hard time so we finally gave up. WHERE'S J WHEN YOU NEED HER???? Oh yeah, studying her brains out since she's a COLLEGE GIRL now. We wish J were here... although I'm not sure where she'd sleep.

We never did find a tent. How, you may ask, do we go camping w/o a tent? Well, there are several choices... maybe stringing up hammocks in trees -- but since it rains so much NO. or we could make a lean-to shelter out of tree branches and bracken, or perhaps find a cave that will keep us dry. NEGATORY. Mom had a brilliant idea. "Why don't you take the van and your air mattress?" YES!!! we are sleeping on an air matress in the back of the blue mini van. Our cooler full of food sits on the passenger seat while the bags sit on the driver's seat. The bikes have found a home locked together under the tree at the edge of our site.

Anyway, after we got to the ferry terminal we had to wait 3 hrs until we got on the ferry. So we napped... We made it safe and sound to the islands in the Puget Sound (is it still the PS?)

I am so excited for our adventure!!!! The last time I went camping, it was in my friend's parents front yard. The time before that is a another story all together. Jen and I were on our way to camp in the Gorge when the car started acting up. We had to turn around and go home, but our camping spirit refused to be dampened -- We unloaded all our stuff in the backyard. Since we couldn't very well light a fire, we ran a bright orange extention cord out to our site and our toaster oven became the campfire... GOOD TIMES! As fun as it was, it wasn't really camping. So this week is much anticipated and much needed.

I'll let C tell you about our fun last night.

Me too!

2008-04-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted FOREVER! I kinda thought that the website would serve us to keep in touch with family while on our trip and make others jealous that we got to have so much fun. I think that we're going to have to use it a lot more. After J's update and C's jealous rantings, I don't have much more to add.

I just started my 3rd term at PSU. I love it, but it is so difficult. I've tried really hard to live off financial aid and not work, so that I can focus on school. It has turned out to be impossible. I am blessed with a great place to live rent-free while in school, and still I just don't have enough money. Poor Yoshi... he needs a new muffler and some spark plugs and fresh oil and I just can't give it to him. He is on the back burner again.

I was planning on living in Scotland this summer. I had the perfect situation figured out. Unfortunately, it is not to be. My friends who know me best always ask, "So what are you doing instead?" How well they know me. Barring any more astronomically rising gas prices, C and I will live out another dream of mine -- Driving the ole 101 all the way to San Diego!!! It should be fabulous and we are so sad that J is in school and cannot join us. I believe she will be getting a postcard from every stop we make!

Well, I need to go and practice my clarinet!!

PS -- the pic is of myself and Robert Pattinson (best known as Cedric Diggory) he is in the Portland area filming a movie based on one of my favorite books TWILIGHT!

Life Continues

2008-03-13T11:14:00.001-07:00

Hello again, all! I felt it was about dang time I post something new on here.

Well, after almost a year of trying to figure out what to do next, I am on to the next thing (FINALLY!!) I have very recently (like last week) received the news that I got in to BYU Idaho. YAY! And so, now I have 5 weeks to scramble as fast as I can to get money for school. I was not expecting to start school so soon, and was hoping for the summer at least to save up for it, but I need to be where the Lord needs me, and so I start April 18th. Yikes! I know that things will work out the way they need to, I just need to make sure I am doing my part and I am so afraid that I will not know what my part is and fail miserably.

But fear is a sin, and failure is just not possible with the Lord on your side. So, this is my figurative knocking my head on a brick wall. WAKE UP J!!!

C heads home from her first year of college the week before I leave. She and D have decided not to go to Ireland, and they are both sad about it, but they know they will have other opportunities. Which I guess makes C a lot less smug (HA) because she isn't doing BOTH things.

Well, I am off to work and stuff. Yay. Note the lack of enthusiasm. :)

I love to see the temple

2008-02-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

ok so i am on the phone with d and j...they are eating a galaxy bar and i am jealous i dislike them intensely...ooh ooh...guess what!?! i am going back to ireland in June! and i am going to rascal flatts next month!!! yeah i know i am so lucky and oh yeah d and j aren't...ok so they are lucky too but niether of them are going both places d is going to ireland with me...ok...im going with her...and j and i are going to rascal flatts...I am going to both...ha ha ha ha ha...the temple just got dedicated yesterday. it is so beautiful and amazing and brilliant and gorgeous, it is wonderful and it is even more beautiful than it was last week the spirit here has grown...i know, i know, it's hard to imagine but it has, i love it here so much i just want to scream it off the mountains. it is so amazing here...sorry mom, ill use another adjective. it is so spectacular here the learning and growing that takes place here is beyond what i could ever imagine. i wish i could stay here the rest of my life...not here in rexburg exactly, but here in this situation, where i have continuous growth in the gospel and in my educational opportunities...ok, maybe here at BYU-Idaho :)

ok...time for homework...goodnight :)

J: HOME!!!

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

It is so wierd to be back home. I am settling back into my old life as the last month fades comfortably into a hazy memory. My mind is like that, it tends to forget rather easily. I will try to keep all this alive for a while longer, though. Until I can write it all down.

So, The last few days of our trip were fun and exhausting. We had the pleasure of being the guests of D's friend Andrew, who is one of the best hosts ever! He took the day off of work to chaperone us around Belfast and we had fun. We went to the Ulster Folk Museum and spent hours wandering around the houses and buildings that have been so carefully reconstructed there. We went to church several times in old church buildings. Even had a sermon by Pastor C, who told us all we are going to burn :) But she said it with a smile on her face, so I guess that's okay. We went on to sing a hymn to our congregation of one. (Question: if there's only one person, can it be called a congregation?) We had a mock trial at the town courthouse, where D and Andrew were accused of stealing coal. C also unburdened herself of all her sins at the confessional rebuilt into their catholic church. We learned how the old-fashioned printing presses worked (and even got to see one in motion :)) It was amazing!

We went shopping downtown Belfast, and then went to dinner at a really cute little place which I can't recall the name of. After all that, we shot the wad at Tesco, buying all kinds of goodies to pack away into our backpacks (sorry Tony, Rucksacks) and bring home to crow over. It was loads of fun. I don't believe I have ever in my life bought that much chocolate at one time in one place. We are going to use some of it tomorrow for family dinner. (Chocolate fondue from Galaxy and Orange Aero, I may go into a coma).

Travelling home was no picnic. Andrew, who is an amazing human being, woke up and made us breakfast at 5am. Even with a full day of really hard work ahead of him, he helped us load our stuff into his car and drove us to the bus station. He even made sure we had our tickets and were on the bus before he left to take a half hour preshift nap. We took a bus to the airport, a plane to New York, and another plane to Oregon. By the time we got home, it was 11pm Oregon time (about 6am in Belfast). Not my idea of fun, but we made it. Mom was at the airport and Anthony. It was so great to see them again! We crashed at Aunt D's house before heading to the beach. All in all, I am sstill waiting for the days to catch up with me. I constantly have to stop and think before I figure our what day it is. Oh, well... soon enough.

D went directly into working. The day after we got home, she photgraphed a wedding, and the two days following, two more weddings. Same here, C and I have worked a couple of shifts. It's nice to add numbers to the zero balance bank account, and I have had enough of not working, I think. So it is nice to be home.

I am sure that we still have tons more to write about, and we will collaberate and get a list together of who gets to write what. Until then, don't give up on us. More to say, and more to do.
Til then...

on the road to skye

2007-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

home safe

2007-08-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

D -- vancouver, washington

so, we're home now...

i don't even know what to say. i am adding pictures like a crazy woman. those of you still checking our blog -- thanks. we have many more stories to write and tons of pics to upload. our blog is incomplete, but we will finish it. the last few days of our trip were a whirlwind of craziness! we had THE BEST TIME EVER!!!!!! we are safe and happy. back to work and saving for our next grand adventure.

rogie water falls -- scotland

2007-08-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

inverness highland games 21 july

2007-08-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

sean betz --USA

crazy australians

check out the tats

the 16 lb hammer throw

2007-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

nessie?

random scotland pics... more to come!

2007-07-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

battle of culloden, last of the jacobite uprisings

kate, one of our guides

a wee forest walk