To make a short story even shorter, I'm just going to let you enjoy the pictures. Sound good? This is the present I received in the White Elephant gift exchange. Inside it were a bunch of Mr. Potato Head parts, but no body. So now I get to play with random arms, legs, ears, eyes and what not from the lovely spud man. I also put the eyes on the outside, so it looks like the Geico money... but instead of money, it's a present.
Neal and Jared, who were acting as "one entity" in the gift exchange, received my present of a Horse Calendar and toothpicks. They decided to split it, with the winner being Jared because he got the toothpicks. Good choice.
Melanie received Jared and Neal's present... a Jock Strap and a Slim Jim. How awkward.
Other presents included a whisk, a Rubik's Pyramid, sunglasses and a lei, and a set of porcelain clowns.
We then made Graham Cracker houses, which was quite an experience. My baggie of frosting exploded on me and so I had to deal with frosting all over the place whilst decorating.
Melanie's "Graham Manger," if you couldn't tell.
My rainbow Skittle/Licorice house. It took me a while to build the actual house because it just kept falling apart.
Jenna's... uh, masterpiece. It started out as a simple refuge for gummy fish, bears, and worms against zombie candy. It escalated with impaled bears, soap, 248 of the 250 toothpicks Jared received, nuking it in the microwave, bizarre amounts of frosting heaped on, and more toothpicks. It was a success.
So we have more lovely decorations than what's in the pictures, but these are my favorite ones.
Above: Our lovely fake fireplace. Flames pending. Below: Our lovely mini Christmas tree, the fireplace (again), and the accompanying tree. I love the tree, except when I was hanging all the glittery ornaments I felt like the glitter god sneezed all over me.
I haven't posted in a while, sorry guys. I can't think of anything exciting to say, so I'll just post a song from my childhood on here. Sound good? Okay.
This is a Norwegian Children's Christmas song called "Musevisa," or the Mouse Song. It's super excellent.
Here's the repeating chorus dealio, if you care to learn. Heisan og Hopsan og fallerallera! Om julekvelden da skal allesammen være gla Heisan og Hopsan og fallerallera! Om julekvelden da skal allesammen være gla
10. Fighting over the bliss bag. 9. Becoming room 314's 7th roommate, right after Neal (5) and Jeff (6). 8. Waffle parties. 7. Hiding all of Neal's gatorade and convincing him it was in the ceiling. 6. Crud: Shoving Style & What If (Both are excellent games). 5. Going to Wal-mart at 2:30 am to get nasty food, then stinking up the apartment with a terrible frozen tv dinner, microwaveable pancakes, day-old donut holes, and a cupcake. 4. Nap parties. 3. Pillow fights. 2. Hovering. 1. 12:31 am.
I'm terribly sorry, but the last two are inside jokes. I can explain number 2 (and 4, technically), but number 1 is just too precious.
Me and Jenna decided to even things out with Jeff and Neal because they always fall asleep at Jenna's apartment by having a nap party at their apartment. So basically after we'd been asleep a while and Jeff, Jared and Adam had left the room, I woke up. Jeff walked in holding a red cup and stood right over Jenna and said, "Hi, Sarah." Jenna woke up a minute later and saw that Jeff was standing over her, and basically started going crazy and saying "why are you hovering?!" It was hilarious. So now we tell everyone that Jeff hovers over Jenna while she's sleeping. Excellent... mwhaha.
'Twas the night before Halloween and all through Richards Hall, not a student was sleeping, not even the small...
Top 5 Reasons October 30 was the bomb: 1) Aggie basketball game. 2) Hocus Pocus. 3) Ninja Destruction. 4) Hillary Clinton. 5) The Scorpion King... 2.
Let me explain.
1) One of the best things about USU is their basketball team and the basketball games. Friday was our first home preseason game, and let me just say that it was awesome. Super coolness spewed out of the crowd as we sung the Scotsman and the school song. I love basketball. I can't play worth crap, but I sure as heck love watching it. The Jazz are my favorite team (of course!), and now the Aggies are my second-favorite. I just can't wait until the season starts... mwahah it'll be crazy awesome.
2) After the game, Rene hosted a Hocus Pocus and hot chocolate party. An awesome formation of couches surrounded the TV and behind there was a table full of many different kinds of hot cocoa. We made our cocoa and claimed our couches, laughing along with the movie. I love Hocus Pocus- it is the Halloween classic. I think I've watched it almost every year come Halloween time. I always pick to be Sarah the witch, of course! Because skanky and blonde fits me perfectly, right?3) Ninja Destruction. I remember watching Tess and Aubrey and everyone else playing at Youth Conference and wanting to learn. I finally did. It was super excellent. Tons of potential awkwardness ensued, along with gut-busting moves and outcomes. This game... is quite difficult at times. You need fast reflexes and good moves. I have neither, but I still did alright.
4) Okay, when I say Hillary Clinton, I don't mean THE Hillary Clinton. We were walking Christine back to her apartment at the LLC and we decided to play Ninja Destruction along the way. One round we were standing underneath the light post in the crossing of walkways (keep in mind it's about 1:30-2:00 a.m.) and doing our good ol' Ninja moves. Suddenly a figure runs up to us and asks to play. Guess what they're wearing? Yep, a Hillary Clinton mask. The static, smiling rubber face of Hillary Clinton acting as a Ninja was enough to put chills down my spine. It was slightly eerie watching them, actually. I did laugh the whole time though, mostly because the mask was both creepy and ridiculously hilarious. Soon after Hillary walked away, we heard a loud yell across the way: "This mask is so HOT! AHHHH! I can't breathe!" In the which Chris replied by saying, "Funny how ironic that is, because Hillary Clinton is not attractive at all."
5) We slinked back to our apartment and saw Rene standing outside on his balcony. It was 2:30 am. We couldn't really figure out why he was just standing there, but he invited us to go and watch the Scorpion King 2 with him. None of us had seen the Scorpion King 1, but we did anyways. It was a ridiculous movie... not that great. But it was fun watching it, mostly because none of us were tired enough to go to bed, and we were still pumped to go do something.
I went to bed at 4:30. Wow.
If Halloween is half as fun as Halloween Eve, then I'm in for a treat.
As I was leaving for SLC to meet some of my family to go to Nightmare on 13th, I was somewhat nervous about driving. Yes, yes I was. Because anything to do with the car is basically my only fear. I have random paranoia's, but freeways and driving and vehicles... yes, it's a fear.
Anyways, I headed off to Salt Lake and got into town safely. I tried calling my dad (we were meeting at Chuck-a-Rama), but he wasn't answering his phone. I looked up to see my dad's minivan kiddie corner to my right and my dad waving at me. Perfect timing! For real, that's pretty awesome in and of itself. It was dad, Elizabeth, Mark, and Mary. We ate, had a jolly good time, and left to go to Nightmare on 13th. After we went through the haunted house (which was quite excellent, I must admit. Superb props and scares.), we went to an Arctic Circle and got ice cream, and sat in the most awkward-shaped table ever.
Anywho... I said my goodbyes and headed back to USU. I was worried about getting back on the freeway in the right direction and safely, which is actually the worst part about my driving fear. Freeway entrances. I followed the signs and got back on safe and sound, and proceeded to drive up north. A while later, I saw a sign that said something about a junction, something about splitting the freeway into west and north. I thought, "Hey, I need to go north. But I don't ever remember anyone else taking a turn-off when they drove me back. I'll just stay on the road."
I passed the junction, and about 99% of the cars behind me took the north turnoff, and I stayed on. That should've been a flashing light in my brain....
My feeling of being lost started to kick in when I noticed that there weren't any other lights around me. Including cars. Nothing. I flipped on my brights and noticed that I was surrounded by hills of dirt. EXIT 39. EXIT 20. EXIT 16.
That's when I got uneasy and decided to call my dad. I tried to explain to both him and my mom that I just kept going, and that I didn't turn off where I wasn't supposed to. My dad couldn't figure out where I was, so he had my Uncle Scott call me. As my cell phone signal cut in and out, I told my uncle that the nearest city sign said "Snowville." Where the heck...?
He explained (with a bit of difficulty, thanks to America's most reliable network...) that I needed to head back east and meet him in Tremonton. Good, a city name I somewhat recognize. I blasted down the freeway at 85+ (I don't really know, my speedometer stops at 85 mph) and met my uncle in Tremonton. He's a Highway Patrol, so he knows the area quite well. He pulled out a map of Utah and proceeded to show me where I was, where I had been, and where I needed to go. I was definitely going the wrong direction- I was about 15 miles away from Idaho. Idaho?!
Turns out, I missed my exit completely, and even taking the North junction would've still gotten me lost. My uncle then showed me the easiest and fastest way to get back to Logan, and afterwards he showed me all the cool gadgets in his lovely cop car. Some pretty nifty stuff, I'd say. I thanked my uncle and headed off. I found my way back to Logan pretty easily, and was able to see the faint blue of Old Main lit up from the valley boundaries. I looked for the temple and found it glowing in the distance. As I got into town, I kept looking for the temple, because if I could see the temple, I could find my way back to my house. Not being able to see it, I kept driving, assuming I was going in the right direction. The temple lights burst through a gap in the trees and caught my eye. I was so overwhelmed with emotion; I had never been happier to see the temple. I was so happy to see the temple and so happy to finally make it home. I was so grateful that I got back safely, even if it meant pushing my sanity and fear a little further than usual.
Snowville (red) - Where I was. Logan (blue) - Where I was supposed to be. It sucks getting lost.
This has been my schedule for the past four days: Friday:
5:00 p.m.- Take nap.
7:00- Wake up, eat dinner.
7:30- Go to lounge and play Crud (aka Spaz for pool).
9:00- Office marathon in Jenna's room.
9:05- Set up for Office marathon (including, but not limited to: debating for 10 minutes on which episode to start with, setting up Jenna's computer, attempting to link the computer to the t.v., getting another cord to hook up computer to t.v., switching computers, waiting for internet to buffer, getting an Ethernet cord, getting speakers, and setting up speakers).
10:00- Start Office marathon.
12:00 a.m.- Start "Galaxy Quest". In the mean time, five people (including myself) are squished onto the "Bliss Bag," or bean bag, and four more are on the couch. Laughter ensues.
3:00- Head back to dorm.
3:30- Finally start getting to bed
3:50- Go to sleep.
Saturday:
9:50 a.m.- Wake up for pancake breakfast.
10:30- Play Crud.
12:00 p.m.- Chat with Rene and get my notes back from him.
12:15- Shower.
1:00- Do math homework.
3:30- Take nap.
4:00- Get on computer.
5:00- Try math again.
6:00- Give up on math.
6:05- Go to neighbors' dorm.
7:00- Go to Hockey game.
10:00- Home from Hockey game, play Crud.
12:00 a.m.- Watch "The Mighty Ducks" in Jenna's room.
2:00- Take Mary home.
2:10- Conspire with Neal and Jared on what to prank.
3:30- Start constructing toilet paper "blanket" to cover Melanie's door.
3:45- Toilet paper Melanie's door.
4:00- Go to bed.
Sunday:
8:05 a.m.- Wake up.
9:00- Church.
12:00- Linger Longer.
12:30- Lunch.
2:30- Write blog then take nap.
5:30- Wake up, do laundry, and play Killer Bunnies.
6:45- Eat dinner.
7:00- Do math homework.
10:00- Move math group from lounge to Neal's dorm.
12:00 a.m.- Make pasta for me and Rene.
12:30 a.m.- Math homework.
3:00- Give up on math homework.
3:15- Discover that my chemistry lab stuff is missing.
3:16- Panic.
3:17- Tear room apart looking for chemistry lab stuff.
3:18- Panic.
4:00- Give up on looking and sleep.
Monday:
9:30 a.m.- Wake up, take shower.
10:30- Get some chemistry stuff from Neal.
11:15- Quick breakfast.
11:30- Chem lab (in which 2 hrs in a kid in my group shatters the beaker and kills the experiment).
2:30- Lunch.
3:00- Math lab.
5:00- Math class.
7:57- Write blog.
8:30- Watch "Big Bang Theory."
9:00- Watch "Castle."
10:00- Discover that Jenna and I both have the same deep love for Radio From Hell.
10:01- Discuss Radio From Hell.
11:00- Start USU 1300 studying.
11:39 (now)- Write blog; continue studying.
So yes. I should be tired, but I'm not. I should've had a bad Monday, but I didn't... not really. I should be studying, but I'm... getting there.
So I decorated my dorm's front room... with a whole heck of a lot of bats. That I cut out. Individually. And other stuff. But mostly bats. On another note, I got accepted into the International Student Volunteers (ISV) to go to New Zealand (most likely) for a service project. Excited excited excited excited excited. Except I just worry about money. I need to find a way to get enough money for the trip, hopefully I can find some sponsors to help me. If anyone knows of a company that will sponsor for a service trip... let me know. But yeah. I'm stoked. Because New Zealand is awesomely delicious.
This is a picture I took of the giant map they have in the Institute building. Every time before Institute, I just look at the map and find cool new cities, rivers, and what not. It makes me want a giant map. It also makes me want to travel more.
Parker Trey Singleton. 10/4/09, 11:12 a.m. 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches. Adorable. I'm now officially an Aunt... yay! Liz mentioned earlier that Parker and Julia are closer in age than Liz and Julia. How weird. I'd just like to say congrats, sissy. Your baby boy is super cute, and I hope he doesn't give you too much trouble. I can't wait until I can take lots of pictures of him.
So I went to this Institute Choir thing tonight to practice singing for our Stake Conference in about a month. I don't sing, I never have. But it was just so gorgeous. The spirit was so overwhelming while just practicing it; I wonder what it'll be like when singing it. Of course the parts are hard, especially the arrangement of the Primary song "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." I can't sing high, and this song gets quite high. The arrangement of "Come, Come Ye Saints" is just gorgeous though. Some parts are really hard, especially when the Altos go from low to high to low... aye. But hopefully I can get it. I really want to, it's just such beautiful music. This is the arrangement of "Come, Come Ye Saints" that we're singing.
I have this unquenchable, unyielding, continual, resolute, insatiable desire to travel the world. I want to get out, to explore anything and everything. I want to go to a random foreign country and do something I never would've dreamed of doing. To go bungee jumping. To see a wild animal that the U.S. doesn't have. To meet new people and become enveloped in their amazing, rich, colorful culture. To see mountains and valleys and canyons and forests and coasts and fields and everything, everything!
I can't stand knowing that there is so much in this world, and here I am, stuck in Utah not being able to experience it first hand. Let's be honest, Utah has never really been the most diverse place. Ever since I've moved to Cache Valley it's expanded a bit, but it's still Utah. I'm just glad I don't still live in Utah Valley. I think I would've gone crazy with lack of experience and adventure.
There are an estimated 6.7 billion people in the world right now. Billion. And Utah only has about 2.7 million. That means Utah has only about .04% of the world's population. It's crazy to think that people around here would rather stay in Utah than get out of here and discover the world. To meet people from everywhere and from every possible walk of life. I would love to meet my brothers and sisters in Africa, China, Norway, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Egypt, India, Australia, Russia, Jerusalem and everywhere else. I just want to meet a learn and love everyone that I can. granted I might not get along perfectly with everyone, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love them and how lovely and beautiful their culture is. Because face it- Utah is not the shiz. It's not.
Anyways, I've been going absolutely and utterly bonkers lately over getting up and getting out into the world. I signed up for a program called International Student Volunteers, where I would get out and go do a service project in a foreign country. I can't even start to explain how much I would love to participate- to plant trees and watch endangered wildlife and try to better one part of the world at a time. The prospect of flying 7,295 miles down to New Zealand to plant thousands of trees and help preserve the environment is... indescribable. Incredible. Impeccably wonderful.
I just want to get out so bad. To learn something new. To meet someone new. To become someone new. Ah, wonderful.
This would be dirty dance #2 at USU. The first was a foam dance, in which we didn't get dirty (mostly because we were soaked in bubbles), more like super super sticky clean. The "pudding dance" is normally the "paint dance" put on during Homecoming week, but this year they decided to change it to the Pudding Dance. It wasn't really a pudding, rather a cold jelly. Here's how it works:
Step 1- Wait by mini pool for jelly to be filled up.
Step 2- When you see the pudding carrier, crouch down near pool and prepare to throw.
Step 3- After the bearer of blue jelly has fought their way through an eager crowd and dumped their bucket into the pool, grab a handful of jelly.
Step 4- Throw.
Step 5- Duck.
Step 6- After 2.3 seconds, jelly will have run out. Go dance to Jai Ho and other said songs for 5 minutes until it is time for the pools to be refilled.
Step 7- Repeat all steps until you can no longer feel your hands. When this happens, either a) run through sprinklers or b) go home and take a hot shower.
Chris and Dayton right after another bout of jelly-throwing.
Me and Mary before we got the worst of it. It was freezing outside. Not to mention the jelly itself was cold.
Right before I spent a while scrubbing the blue off.
No, I did not run the marathon. Me, Kelsey and Mary waited at the end of the marathon and waited for Matt and Kyle to finish. We got lost trying to find the park and ended up walking too far up, too far down, then over to actually where we were supposed to be. We waited near the end and just cheered for everyone that came in. It was so crazy, seeing a variety of people running across the finish line. There were 60-year-olds, short people, really tall people, really thin people, average-sized people, and even a few "bigger" people (even though they weren't that big, because hey, they're still running a marathon). We cheered extra loud for the girl runners.
Kyle's parents found us cheering at the sideline and stopped to say hello. They told us that Kyle was at 25 miles, and that we would see him in a few minutes. I was surprised when they told us that Matt was behind Kyle almost 8 minutes, because Matt is more built for running than Kyle. Kelsey said he was technically "too tall" for running. We soon saw Kyle running towards us, looking like he just wanted the race to end. We started screaming like crazy and watched as he crossed the finish line. I'm not sure his exact time, but it was something around 3 hrs and 19 minutes. Wow! That is super awesome.
We turned back to the race and kept waiting for Matt. Every time we got sight of a runnie, we'd ask if it was him or not. We started getting antsy, hoping that he hadn't injured himself and that everything was fine. About 15 minutes after Kyle finished, Matt came running down the street. He looked a bit happier than Kyle did, and we continued to scream and cheer as he crossed the finish line.
We found them lying on the grass eating Fat Boys a few minutes later. Kyle said his legs hurt too much to get a massage from the people, plus he said he didn't want anyone touching him at the moment. We talked to them and asked about how the race went, and they told us about different people they ran with, how it was super cold up the canyon when they started, the aid stations, and a bunch of other running dealios. Kyle was shaking and both of them were basically really slow in responding to us (or anything, for that matter), and seemed really exhausted for the rest of the day. I kept telling them how cool it was to be able to say that they had finished a marathon. Finished... a... marathon. So cool.
We went out to Angie's to lunch, where Matt basically got half a cow's worth of meat on a burger, and where we filled up, after me and Kelsey not having breakfast and the guys running since 7:00 a.m. We drove around town and hung out at the dorm or the creamery for the rest of the day, and I bid Matt, Kelsey, and Kyle farewell around 5:00.
Oh yeah, Matt's mom and uncle said they would pay him $30 to ride on the bus up the canyon to the start of the marathon wearing nothing but really short running shorts and a strand of pearls. He had to think about it before declining. He said he would've been too cold. It was sure fun watching them run and complete the most treacherous 26.2 miles of a marathon. But watching the marathon made me wonder if I could ever accomplish anything as physically challenging (and crazy) as a marathon. I have problems running half a mile, for heaven's sake. I'm not saying that I ever want to run a marathon, but I think it'd be cool to do something I've never done before. I congratulate Matt, Kyle and everyone else who ran in the marathon, including Robert, Tairsa, Matt's mom and basically everyone else who had the guts to even try. Good job, people. You're awesome!
Above: Kyle finishing the race. Below: Matt and his ribcage finishing. Sorry for the crappy quality of this picture... I have no idea what happened.
These are the guys just lying in my dorm, trying to relax.
Today it rained. A lot a lot. I didn't plan for it, so I had to walk all the way home in the pouring rain. So... cold. Like the backpack lines?
So today I joined a club called "Aggie Cats." They help trap, neuter, immunize, and maintain a feeding station for the cats. They neuter the cats so the feral cat population won't get out of control, they immunize them to help prevent the spread of disease, and they provide a source of foods so the cats don't roam around campus and also to give the cats a place to "live." I'm super excited, because 1) I love cats, 2) I love cats, 3) I really love cats, and 4) I love cats.
College. College, college, college. It's going quite well, actually. Some nights I'm stressed out because of my math homework, but most of the time I find time to do things and still relax. I started my chemistry lab today... it was a little frustrating. My lab group just argued with me over what we were supposed to do. I just read the instructions straight out of the book. And they argued with me. It was super super basic stuff, like measuring, weighing, and taking the temperature of ice water. WAY easy. But because the guys in my lab group decided to argue over everything, we ended about an hour after we should've. An hour. If it keeps happening, I'll maybe ask to switch groups. I hope it'll get better.
I just found out today that I have two midterms on Monday plus a lovely 3-hour chem lab. I don't know what I'm going to do... hopefully pass.
So I was looking up Far Side comics today... talk about hilarious. They've always been one of my favorites, right under Foxtrot. I have a nerdy/sarcastic sense of humor, so it works out well. Here are a few of my favorites:
I think the first two are probably my favorite. I always bust up when I read them.
Anyways... off to studying. Ta ta, mon ami.
I bet you woke up this morning and said, "I wonder what Sarah did over Labor Day weekend..." If that was the case (which I highly doubt it was), then I might as well tell you. Saturday I woke up to Charlotte running around my room. Such a cute little baby... I sat there and thought about what to do for a while, until I thought, "Hey, I should get a haircut." I was able to get a haircut within half an hour, in which I chopped of a large portion of my hair. Later that night Rebecca, Mark, and I went and saw The Time Traveler's Wife. I really liked it, especially since Rachel McAdams was in it (who is quite a talented actress, I must say).
SundayI went to church. Yay! Later we had a BBQ with my dad's friends/boss and their families and the Fuhrimans. It was quite fun, even though Scott and Helen said they would be embarrassed by us if we were their kids. Monday my mum made brunch for me and my friends so we could chill before we headed back off to college. I tagged along with Elizabeth and Dad as they shopped around for a lovely new vehicle for my Elizabeth. I've never been car shopping before (well, not really), so it was quite an experience. Luckily there weren't swarms of pushy car salesmen squawking at us to "Buy this! Buy that! Buy EVERYTHING!" When we got home we celebrated my little bro's birthday- the little lad is a whopping15 years old. He still acts like he's 12 though. He's getting so old, it's ridiculous. I remember when he was just a little squirt who would take things apart and ruin them. Wait a second... he still does that. Mum bought him a new bike, I bought him a mini carton of Aggie Ice Cream. How loving...
Mary and I left for USU, making it in an excellent 2 hours. I unloaded all the extra stuff I brought up, and I put up a curtain in hope that it'll block out the light so I can finally sleep soundly at night. One can only hope.
This is what happens when you discover your webcam.
So today I went home for the first time since I moved out, and boy must I say... not much has changed. My sister's pregnant belly got bigger, and my cat looks older. Other than that... nothing. Although I did get to watch Kyle open his mission call. Croatia?! Oh goodness, I'm so excited for him. For real. It's so weird to see all my guy friends start going on missions. Once they're all gone is when it's going to get really really weird. But they'll have loads of spiritual fun, I know it.
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY! Talk about one exciting place. There's much too much stuff to even cover half of it, so I have just a few pictures of a few events that have happened.
Left: This is Old Main. It's a building. You don't think that's cool? Well, it lights up blue when the good ol' Aggies win a sports game. Talk about freakin' awesome.
Right: This is the Big Blue, our mascot. Don't we look tough? Beat that, Cougars.
Left: I've received many tubes of chapstick for free around campus. This particular tube had our fight song in itty bitty print. I wish it had the "Scotsman" on it though...
Right: Isn't this picture just super flattering? This would be the foam dance. Gallons of coconut bubbles + college students + kinda moshing = suffocation. I cut my shin trying to get out for some air. Totally worth it.
Above: This is USU raging war against the U. Because you know what? True Aggies Bleed Blue. They also get awesome free t-shirts.
The bus ride down seemed pretty dang short, mostly because I slept almost the whole way. We got to Snow College, ate lunch, and headed to our dorms. They were very spacious dorms- bigger than any I've ever stayed in. Five single bedrooms, a full kitchen, three bathrooms, and a front room. Dang, if only my future dorm was that big...
In the afternoon, we headed up to the ropes course where we split into groups and headed off. My group started with my least favorite challenge- the wall. We had to get our entire team up and over a 12 ft. wall. I pretty much suck at climbing, that's why I initially didn't want to do it. As our team progressed and things got funnier, I had a blast. The last kid had to get up on his own; he tried climbing up Tyson's legs as Tyson dangled from the top, he tried running up the wall and catching the hands of the three kids at top, and he tried running and grabbing on a belt that the three top helpers were dangling down. The belt snapped. Eventually, after getting a sturdier belt, he latched on, and the three lifted him over the wall. Cheers followed.
Some of our other challenges were the Catwalk, where one had to climb a tree, walk across a log suspended in air, and walk across a wire and try to grab dangling ropes that got farther and farther apart. I didn't do this one because there wasn't enough time. There was also "Dangling Duos," which seem pretty dang intense. Two people had to climb this giant dangling ladder and honk the horn at the top. The catch was that only one person could use the ropes as help, and the other person was only allowed to use the first person as a way to get up. It looked HARD. I didn't get to do this, because once again we ran out of time.
After many different challenges, we headed back to the buses to go down. One group was still at their rotation, and I wanted to go on it so bad. It was the giant swing. I saw that Tess and Aubrey were down there, so I headed down to watch. What the swing entailed was one person was harnessed to a series of ropes that a group of people would hold onto and run. The harnessed person would fly up in the air, and sometimes jerk violently from the force of the people running the ropes. Jealous! I wanted to go on it so bad.
The next few days followed with water games, field games, food, testimony meeting, a dance, and lots of card games. I was so stinkin tired; I almost skipped the dance to go to sleep... but I didn't. I'm not much of a dance person, so it wouldn't have mattered to me.
Me, Liz, Tess, and Aubrey all slept in Tess and Aubrey's dorm that night. Well, if you call it sleeping. We made a slide down the staircase of mattresses and played B.S. until the late recesses of night. I was so tired and delusional that I was having uncontrollable fits of laughter. We all passed out.The best part was that the day we got back, I had a baby shower, family reunion, and birthday party to go to. It was a long day.
I had an excellent birthday today. It was the first time my birthday was on a Sunday in... well, who knows when. My family (mostly my mom, I believe) threw me a surprise birthday dinner, and it was super awesome to see most of my friends there, eating away at delicious pasta. It was fun and relaxing, even though the happy birthday song sounded more like a death chant...
Naturally a birthday makes one contemplate their life... and I did. a little. I've just been thinking about college and moving out and everything that comes with adulthood. I went to a friend's wedding reception on Saturday, and it was so crazy to see someone who was in my P.E. class and Young Women's get married... it kinda gives me chills thinking about it, really. Because I don't really want to get married anytime soon, i'd rather just have fun in college. I keep thinking of what the "real world" entails, and what responsibilities come with fending for yourself. Hopefully I'll survive. For now, I'll sit back and enjoy the rest of my summer. Wazzah.
Mucho. They are my favorite band, and I just love 'em so much. In fact, the title of my blog, "Monuments and Melodies," is inspired by the song and album from Incubus.
So last night I went to the Incubus concert, and it was pretty much amazing. Ah, the most attractive Brandon Boyd was once again.... most attractive.
We started off almost in the very front (there were 4 girls in front of us, but that's it), but then these jerks basically punched their way through everyone and shoved us out of the way to get to the front. Seriously? They punched their way through girls... wow, how awesome. For the first 45 minutes, I had to fight constantly to just stay standing. Shoving... elbowing... pushing... weed. Yes, weed. The guy right next to me blew a cloud of pot smoke right into my face and I almost threw up, it was so disgusting. Eventually Tess, Liz, and I got pushed about 7 feet back from where we started, and it was so much more calm because people weren't brawling to get to the front. It was so much better near the back, mainly because I could stop and take pictures of the delicious Brandon Boyd.
As we were heading home, we blasted their Light Grenades album, rolled down all the windows and belted "Oil and Water" as loud as we could. It was fabulous.
Since it was their Monuments & Melodies tour, they played a lot of their old stuff. These are the songs I remember them playing:
Privilege Stellar Dig Anna-Molly Megalomaniac Sick Sad Little World Talk Shows on Mute Quicksand A Kiss to Send Us Off Love Hurts Drive Oil and Water Wish You Were Here Warning Pardon Me Nice to Know You Punch Drunk A Certain Shade of Green Let's Go Crazy
There might've been more, but I can't quite remember all of them. Incubus. Incubus. Incubus. ah, drool. Brandon Boyd <3. {the below pictures are mine} (Ben Kenney on bass)
