Camping--A lesson in patience

So a few weekends ago, my roommates and I decided to rough it out in the woods all by ourselves. We booked a camp site in advance and then set out on our way. We had clear instructions on how to get there (it was only in Springville) and allotted ourselves about 30 minutes to get there. Little did we know that it would take almost TWO HOURS to get there. The reason? Construction....bleh. I hate it. We ran into it at every turn it seemed like. We had to take at least 3 detours. So annoying. At least we got to know the neighborhoods of Springville. We saw a house that looked like Rigoletto lived there, so that was cool (Funny side story: We went to a bridal shower this past weekend and it was in the house next door to the Rigoletto house). We finally stopped some ladies walking down the road to ask them for help.

So we found the campground, but we didn't know which space was ours, so we had to ask the lady in charge. Here is a video documenting our frustration (this is the end of the almost 2 hours).

I love how the video ends with Jen's thumbs up. That means we found it!!! So as you can see, we weren't in the best shape after so many frustrations. I couldn't stop laughing! I think I was laughing so I wouldn't cry. I really can't remember though. Anyway, we got there and had a smashing good time!
The fire that Jen and I tried to build. We couldn't get it started so we had to ask a man across the way to help us. He told us it should only take one match to light a fire. We had used about 20... He started ours with just the leftover coals of our failed attempt. How embarrassing.

Suz documenting our trip. Isn't she a dream?

Everyone minus me.

Me and Mary.

Jen in our tiny tent. It's a 2 man tent, but we definitely squished all five of us in there.

Haha I love this picture.

Don't we look great when we first wake up?

Next time we try an outing like this, we will know A) how to get there and B) how to start the fire.

Stadium of FIRE!!!!

So on the Fourth I helped set up chairs for the Stadium of FIRE. Then that night I got to go to the show! It was one of the most exciting things I have done in a long time. One of the things I was most excited about was this obnoxious yellow and orange shirt. I had to wear it that night to get in, and as I walked to the Stadium people were asking me questions as if I knew all the ins and outs of the production. It was kinda cool.

So because I was a volunteer, I got to sit right on the field with the other volunteers and military families. It was cool because the dancers were right there in our faces. I almost got hit a few times with those poles they are holding.


These kids were SO cute. I especially love the little boy.


This flag was ENORMOUS! It was like a hundred feet long or something. At the end of the night they respectfully retired it by fire. (As you can see, it's kind of old)

SHeDaisy! They were really fun live. I love their music.

And without further ado........ The Jonas Brothers!!!!!!!
The stage was way cool.

All three singing together. I took tons of video clips, but my computer wont let me put them on. Too bad. Heather, I think Taylor and maybe Emily would like the pictures of the Jonas Brothers. You should show them.

Anyway. It was a totally fun night! I think I'm going to volunteer again next year. I kinda like the idea of free T-shirts and tickets.

The 3rd of July.

My roommates and I wanted to have a really exciting Fourth of July weekend. On the 4th, I was going to Stadium of Fire and a few others were going with family to party, so.....we planned an action packed day of fun on the 3rd. We started off bright and early with a hike up to Silver Lake. It was SO beautiful as you will see from the pictures.

This is the whole crew. I'm pretty surprised we got all seven of us in this because nobody was around to take one for us, so Mary had to use her long arms to snap this shot.

Silver Lake.

So on the way down the mountain....a cougar was attacking Suzanne so I saved her and this is my battle wound. That would be cool if it were true. But I really just tripped (on the most level part of the trail) and cut myself up on the gravel. It doesn't look that bad here, but it was a nasty cut and it bruised a lot over the next few days. Putting rubbing alcohol on it was TERRIBLE.

There was snow at the top! How cool is that? There were some little boys up there that kept pelting us with snowballs so, of course, we had to fight back.

This is a really cool picture. The lake is high up on the mountain, so the edge looks like it just drops off...which it does.



When we got home, we went swimming. Don't ask what Mary is doing. I don't think any of us know.

We then made a FEAST!!! We made lots of BBQ chicken salad. It was delicious.

This is the puppy that lives next door. His name is Cha Le (it sounds like you're saying Charlie with a British accent). He is so adorable and we like to play with him most days.

Okay. This is proof that people in Provo are ridiculous! People were camping out on the side of University Ave 24 hours before the 4th of July parade was supposed to happen. What a waste of a day. Most of the people brought their TVs and movies and video games to play. I guess it could be fun, but I don't get it.

We ended off the night with some yummy desserts and the dice game. Or, in Suzanne's family, Farkle.

What a great day!

Happy Birthday

To three of my roommates. Mary Vance, Vivian Dunken, and Suzanne Dunken all had a birthday the same week at the end of June. Being the great, awesome, fantastic roommates we are, the rest of us decided to throw a big birthday bash for the lovely ladies (cowboy and indian style, of course). Both Suzanne (Tutt) and I made cakes. Mine is the white one. Check it out.


The Birthday Girls








Thanks for being born. It gave us a reason for a smashing good time.

Go, Go Griffindor!

So my FHE group is the bomb.com (click). We have had pretty fun activities so far. This past Monday, we all got our brooms (or mops in some cases) out and headed to the local elementary school to play some muggle quidditch. It was really fun. I bet we looked really cool running around with brooms between our legs. Here are some sweet group pictures:



Us trekking to the quiddtich pitch


At the elementary school



The guy facing backwards is the snitch. The soccer ball was the quaffle and we had some soft balls for the bludgers.

Volunteering Pays...

In free Jonas Brothers tickets!! I'm going to help set up at the Stadium of Fire this Fourth of July and then I get to see these guys!
An added bonus-- I get a free T-shirt. Could life get better? I submit that it cannot!

The past few weeks...

So a few weeks ago we had a really fun FHE where we did a picture scavenger hunt. It was really fun. We tried to be as creative as we could to fulfill these requirements. Enjoy!



Act like statues. We're such a happy family.


Try on somebody else's shoe. This is quite nice.


Roll down a hill.


Have a handstand contest with a stranger. Apparently nobody but the stranger has any handstanding skills.


Play a game with another FHE group. This is a great action shot!


Play with a cat. These girls had a lot of fun playing with this stuffed one.


Knock on someone's door and ask for a square of toilet paper. I wonder who's in there?


Use a pay phone. They didn't say how to use it...apparently Suz has a grudge against Brandon.


Jump over a fence.


Help someone cross the street. We ran into a girl in our ward, so we helped her out, even though she didn't have to cross the street. Notice Brandon on the right stopping all the "traffic" like he's Superman or something.


Greg is about as tall as this tree, so he had a hard time actually climbing it.


Run along with a jogger. This was hard because it was raining that day, but we found this lone runner and Mary just jumped out of the car and basically chased this guy down so we could get a picture. He noticed we were taking a picture just in time to give us a thumbs up. How nice.


Squish lots of people in a small space. The backseat of this car was actually quite roomy so we just acted like it was small. Pretty convincing, eh?


Last week I got to meet the girl I'm going to mentor. I just get to hang out with her once a week. Her name is Aspen and she is 7 years old. She is really cute. I'll take some picture of some of our activities and post them later.

Also, I saw Matt for the first time in 2 years yesterday! It was fun to see him again.