Sunday, November 14, 2010

Temple Groundbreaking


My mother, father, and I had a simply splendid time at the Gilbert, Arizona Temple Groundbreaking ceremony. It was very lovely and quite spiritual, even though you couldn't really see anything. There was over 5,000 people there, and I'm having no regrets about attending, except that my scalp is burned. It's only a first degree; no worries.(I just finished learning about burns and the skin malfunctions in Anatomy...quite fascinating, let me assure you.) But, I thought that perhaps I might share my reflections on the new Temple that will be completed in about 2 years. I am very excited, and terribly grateful that we will be given an even greater opportunity to attend the temple, and that it is so near us. Even though I will be close(very close) to leaving home by the time it may be finished, I fully expect to go often and do what I can as a youth. I have learned that there is nothing more sacred than a temple on earth, and I am exceedingly excited to go one day and receive the blessings that it provides. I hope everyone is doing well- sorry to take you by surprise by my spur-of-the-moment post, considering that I was not due for another 2 weeks or so. But I love you all and am excited to see some of my family for Thanksgiving. Have a great day!

Friday, October 22, 2010

I Have a Job: It's Called Full Time Student

I have been insanely busy....even though I know I have no room to talk since some of my friends have been putting in a ton more hours than me. School has been ca-razy and I feel like I need to spend some quality time with myself. Anyway, here is the documentation of the last 3 1/2- 4 weeks.

Lauren and Morgan came to visit:



Although, I think Morgan's favorite part mostly involved food. Just a guess.



But it was tons of fun, and I loved having family here for a few days. It would have been complete if my nephew had been there, but hopefully we'll see them both at Christmas. So, just some random pictures from the trip:



And then before I knew it, I had my first choir concert of the year. I think we did really well considering it was our first time performing together. But since then, I have become sick of performing, since it seems like Advanced Vocal has festivals every week. But here are some pictures of the concert:
Yes, this is Joe and I. I'm putting it up because the only other picture you'll see of him is the one where he looks like a zombie, so you should probably get a good impression.



Anyway, that concert was about 3 weeks ago. And although it was probably our best performance, it has not been our last. Jazz Band concerts, football games, and the most recent, a 2-day Jazz festival. I don't have any pictures of that, but I was at Gilbert High for 2 days with a clinician named Michele Weir who taught us the ropes of Jazz Improv. Needless to say, it's not exactly my thing. But our entire Advanced Vocal was split up into 4 groups combined with other schools from our district. I was in the all girls choir that did a jazz arrangement of "My Favorite Things." It was so, so hard with this huge scatting section in the middle that lasted like 3 pages. It was so challenging, but being in that girls' choir was probably one of the most satisfying things that I've done in a long time. And I got to make new friends and get to know people in my Advanced Vocal better. Overall, it was a good experience. Until I got back to school Monday and found out how much I missed in my other classes. Maybe I'll scrounge up some pictures of the festival from Facebook if I can find them. I'll let you know.
Now that you have heard my too-long inner monologue, I'm sure that you want to hear about the terrifying experience of: HOMECOMING! (terror music in the background with a few girly screams for good measure) I only say terrifying because of course my first school dance was a Halloween costume dance. And I got to dress up like a zombie attacked me. I only have one or two pictures. Sorry.

And yes, there is fake blood on my neck. I think it's my finest look yet. People at the dance were giving us weird looks...which didn't really make sense because it was a costume dance. We got less of a reaction when we went to Walmart.
I also forgot to mention that I went on Trek over Fall Break. It was AWESOME. I loved it, even though it was so hard. I got to know the youth in my ward so well, and there is no going back now. I never knew how hard it would be to pull and push a handcart for 3 days. It was only 21 miles, and physically, it was the hardest thing that I have ever done. I don't think that I'd want to do it again, but I am glad that I went.

And just one last thing: YW in Excellence.



Hooray for already getting my medallion! That meant I didn't have to do a whole lot. So they stuck me on the piano, 'cause I'm so advanced at hymns.
Funny story about the outfit I'm wearing in that picture. It's not mine. It's my best friend Louisa's. I came to school that day and I was sick of what I was wearing. And Louisa was sick of what she was wearing. So we went to the bathroom and switched clothes. And then I showed up 10 minutes late to Seminary. Yep. Day in the life of.
Miss you all and I'll try to update more so my posts don't have to be huge and published at 3 AM!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Happiness Lane

So much has happened since the last time I posted, I barely even remember. I was waiting for something to post about, and suddenly, things were shooting at me like bananas and I barely had time to take pictures. Lame excuse, I know. But, I did at least take some pictures in the last month. Let's start around the beginning of the month, shall we?

Jayne's Wedding:
It was so beautiful! I enjoyed every minute of it, and Becky came down to visit, so that was a major plus. Jayne's sister, Rachelle, I have known for about 8 years or so, and to see Jayne get married was, well, weird.



Although the wedding was beautiful, I have this feeling that Becky is glad not to be married yet.


And it was nice for Becky to come down because she got to see all her friends again, even though the event just happened to be a wedding. Being united with old friends is the best.


But being back together with your sister? Even better.


So, more recently, my Aunt Caroline came to visit, and we just had to make the usual stop to Organ Stop Pizza to show that even though Arizona has its faults, we have a really cool organ in town. Oh yeah, and my dad is here, so that's not bad, either.




And then, you know, it was my birthday, so that was kinda fun. Having dinner outside when it feels nice is one of the best things. There is almost no weather, and it smells good. It was nice that Aunt Caroline could be here for my birthday as well. We had some great discussions about my Grandma and Grandpa that I didn't know.


Happy Birthday to me. 17 and getting older.

Plus, I got a phone. It's a nice commodity, even though apparently I never answer it. Give me some time, ok? I'll get used to it. I really like it so far, and I didn't even have to pay for the actual phone.



And then, on top of that, the day of my birthday, I got asked to Homecoming. I was a little surprised, although I am excited to go. It's kind of a long story, but bear with me. My best friend Louisa and my other best guy friend Joe took me out on my birthday to Tropical Smoothie. They told me that this guy was going to ask me to Homecoming, and I didn't know him very well, so I was a little disappointed. But they were dead serious and told me it was going to happen soon. So after they dropped me off at home, I was talking to my sister on the phone, and the doorbell rang. And I just knew, you know? I trudged downstairs for the disappointment, and sure enough, there it was:

And I then found the Swedish Fish amongst the many colored goldfish. I knew what name it would have on it, and I turned it over and much to my surprise, I saw that it said: "JOE." I was one happy birthday girl. Turns out, Joe and Louisa made the whole story up about the other boy and Louisa helped Joe ask me. They had me going. By the way, this is me and Joe:


We were in the play together, if you couldn't tell. That's how I know him, and he is pretty much awesome.
Then yesterday, I had a choir festival early in the morning, and went into the afternoon. We did pretty well I think, considering that it was our first performance this year. But for my birthday, Louisa took me shopping, and we had way too much fun.




And then when I went back to Louisa's house for dinner, guess who was in the kitchen waiting for us? Joe and Rob, of course! And they were making us dinner, those sweet boys.

Don't ask, it's a long story.

We had a great time eating and singing and playing piano, and after we dropped Joe off at his house, Louisa, Rob, and I went back to Louisa's to put together my answer for Joe. I didn't take any pictures, but to summarize: It was a cereal box that had a piece of paper over it that said: "If the number of pieces inside is even, it's a YES. If the number of pieces inside is odd, then it's a NO." So we dumped all the cereal inside, but at the bottom of the box, there was a note that said: "EVEN if it's ODD, eat one- cause I'd love to go to Homecoming with you." And then we left it outside his house and forgot to let him know it was there. Hey, I was getting kinda close to my curfew.
Anyway, it was a really good birthday, and I am walkin' down Happiness Lane right now. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Life as I Know It

I have finally found time to get going again and charm you all with my Wonderful Words of Wisdom. A lot has been going on actually.....although I admit a lot of my time has been used for homework and school. It's true what they say, you know: Junior year is the hardest. Although for your information, I really like Anatomy & Physiology. And choir has turned out really well, too, albeit really tough.
This is some stuff that I've been up to lately:
  • Getting my hair cut (as you probably know)
  • Starting school 3 weeks ago
  • Reading The Hunger Games Series (If you haven't read them, do it. Now.)
  • I had an awesome Choir Retreat to Prescott, although the day before, I got the flu and had to go up late.
  • I finally got my Personal Progress and I am officially done! I have my necklace and everything!
  • We celebrated the boys' birthday and had lots of fun.
  • And Ben left home this morning, and now everything is my fault again. Sigh.
What? You want pictures? I thought so.


This was the birthday day......and what else would be doing besides trying on Daniel Boone hats?

This was part of the Choir Retreat; it's called the Yarn of Unity, and I think you can see the purpose. I'm the really short one next to the monster boy. (His name is Joe, I love him)

This picture was taken this morning before I went to school, and I have to say it doesn't do us justice. We looked way worse. (I'm kidding.)


Ahh, Ben. I think I'll miss you.
I hope everyone's doing alright! I miss you all!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Thought

At the suggestion of my sister Lauren, I am considering continuing the blog. It's true I don't get to see the family often, but I am starting school, so it's not as if I will be blogging about what I did everyday. You would hate me. I'm thinking more like.....blogging normally. Like what everyone else does: posting about the highs and lows in my life, what I'm up to, ect. I think I might, because taking that trip to see my family made me realize how much I missed them. So, if you don't hear from me in a while, don't be too concerned. I'll try to keep updated every now and then.

And yes, my first day back at school was just fine, thank you for asking.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Projects # 55- 64

8 hours until summer is over. I'm not particularly distressed. And this is going to be my longest blog post because I've been on vacation for over a week. Oh, where to start?
(I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail, I'll just summarize.) On Sunday, my mom, dad, and I left for Missoula, Montana. It's truly beautiful up there, and it feels so nice! And what's more, it's green!

We went boating, had great food, and the whole reason of the visit with my sister-in-law's family was to bless my nephew, William Paul. It was so wonderful. The pictures are of the blessing, which we had at the cabin.



The boating was also really fun- I only went tubing and on the jet ski, but my dad learned how to knee board, and my brother Jon is really good at water skiing. Where did I come from?

I was a little sad to leave Missoula, but we left on Wednesday for Park City, Utah. We had a blast driving down.....all 13 hours of it. But the second part of the vacation was to go to the Spackman family reunion(my mom's side). We arrived in Park City on Thursday and got to see my niece, Morgan, my sister Lauren, and my brother-in-law Erik. We all had fun at the reunion and I got to see some of my other cousins and we had fun playing games and whatnot.
My grandma with her great grandson(and my nephew!), Will, and my dad with his granddaughter(and my niece!) Morgan. I love it.
Me and my cousin Jamie. When we were little, we used to look so much like each other.
Saturday we had a lot of fun shopping at the outlets in Park City. It was an absolute zoo, but fun anyway. Me and my cousins had dinner together too. Mmmm, teryaki chicken. And Sunday, you'll never guess. I got my hair cut. I really like it and it has been feeling a lot cooler in Arizona lately. Monday, me and my mom were flying home, so on our way to the airport in Salt Lake, we went and visited my sister Lauren and my niece. Erik lives at the hospital, poor guy, so he wasn't there.

And as it turns out, we stayed and played with Will and Morgan too long, and we missed our plane! And then the next 2 flights out of Salt Lake to Phoenix were full, so we had to sit in the airport for 7.5 hours for a 9:30 PM flight. Needless to say, I missed my back to school night, which is ok. So I start school tomorrow, and I'm almost ready. I just haven't met my teachers yet. Here are some random pictures in no particular order from the trip:






Oh, and this is Morgan when we have her ice cream. She screamed when it was gone.
I love Will!

You can kinda see my haircut in this picture.....and I'm a double aunt! So proud!


Hope everyone had a great summer. This concludes this blog, and I'm really grateful to everyone who kept up with it and read it. I really felt like a had a better summer because of this. Wish me luck in school and I love you all!