Goodbye For Two Years

Last Sunday Brock had his farewell talk in preparation for him leaving to the MTC July 20th, he will be going to the Guatemala City, Guatemala Central mission, Spanish Speaking. He asked Melanie and I to do the musical number so we prepared a beautiful duet called "Because He Lives". Tons of people showed up to see him off and it was fun to see friends from high school again. Our song went great, although I felt a little bad for making Brock tear up before he even started his talk. He did a wonderful job though and the spirit was really strong. Besides two youth speakers and the musical number, his bishop gave him the whole time to speak but he had no problem filling it up.

After the meeting we all went over to his house for lunch. His mom had prepared pulled pork sandwiches the day before and there was tons of food. Every one sat in the shade and socialized for the next couple hours while Brock made his way through talking to everyone. After almost everyone had gone home except his extended family i went home to take a nap before heading back again.

When I returned our group of friends from Provo had arrived. They hadn't been able to come earlier because Javier was submitting his mission papers. It was great to see them again and we hung out catching up until it got late and they needed to get on the road back to Provo. I feel bad they had to drive so much in one day but I know Brock really appreciated it, and so did I.

Pepe, Marissa, Brock, Me, Whitni, Javier, and Junior

Brock with all the girls, including sister Alexis

Now for the boys

 Who has the best calves?

By the time they left I was completely exhausted so after talking with Brock's family a little more I headed home as well since I'd get to see Brock for a couple more days. While all the goodbyes are sad, I am so excited for all the experiences he is going to have, I know Brock is going to make one amazing missionary :)

Picture Time :)

A couple weeks ago Lisa was in Twin Falls and she offered to do Melanie's senior pictures if we'd meet her there. Since our schedules were hard to match we just picked up one Saturday and headed down there for the day. While most of the photo shoot was focused on getting Melanie's pictures we also found time for a few sister shots and I got a couple by myself as well. Here are my favorites...

Lagoon!

On a rather spur of the moment decision, my Dad decided to take work off the whole week of the fourth and so we decided to make a two day trip to Lagoon, one of my families favorite summer spots. I invited Brock to come with us as well and so Wednesday morning at about 7 am we all packed in the big blue van. We all tried to catch a little bit of sleep but some of us were a little too excited...

Once at Lagoon we got settled in the campsite next door and headed out to the park. We spent most of the day hitting as many rides as we could, my favorites being Wicked, Samurai, White roller coaster, the Swings, and Re-entry. When we got in line for the Rocket (re-entry), we ended up next to the most hilarious guys. They spent the whole time we were waiting convincing those already on the ride that bolts were loose and emergency lights were on, or using other tactics to make them as scared as possible before the ride took of. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard they were so entertaining. I think the guy running the ride was pretty happy when they left though because all the riders were making him check their harnesses twice. Oh and I have to give a quick shout out to Brock for being much braver this time around ;)

Senior trip June 2010

(Brock wearing his game face)

Amidst all the rides we took a break to celebrate McKayla's 15th birthday with a stack of hostess cupcakes from the gas station and a candle. Don't worry though, we made up for the cake with all the fun presents she got including clothes and lots of Bath and Body Works.

On day two we headed straight to the water park, Lagoon-A-Beach. Since their was a light cloud covering and slightly lower temperatures we had free range of the park and hardly any lines for the slides.

Brock and I spent a good deal of our time racing each other on inter tubes down the big white slide. He also convinced me to try the steep white body slides, something I haven't done since I was 8 years old and have been terrified of ever since. I was proud of myself for trying them but they still aren't my favorite, although it was pretty sweet catching some air as I flew out of the one with the tunnel.

After being adventurous we followed my parents' suit and relaxed on the lazy river.

Once we were all tuckered out we rested a bit before hitting the rides once more. 

At about 7 pm we packed up and headed out, and after a near fiasco at Wendy's and some car troubles we arrived safely home. The trip was a blast and I can't wait to go again next summer!

Fourth of July Celebration

The fourth started out with waking up early to save our seats for the parade. We ended up with great spots on the side of the road even though we were crowded out a little bit. Both Michelle and Nathan were in the parade for gymnastics and DARE.

After the parade we hurried back to the house to get ready for our barbecue since Dad had invited a few of his home teaching families over. The girls made salads, Brock made a dutch oven dessert with the help of Michelle, and my Dad fired up our mini grill. Everyone had such a great time eating and talking they stayed over for almost 4 hours. Melanie, McKayla, Marie, and Liz sang songs together on the piano for almost that entire time.

Nearing 5 pm though we had to end the so that everyone could go home and get ready for the fireworks. Brock and I headed to his house to join up with his family who was heading for a friend's house right on the river. We had to be their really early so that we got in before the road closed, thats how close we were to where the famous Melaleuca show was being set off. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of this part but we had a great time walking around the green belt to pass the time, meeting up with high school friends, playing Apples to Apples with my family when we ran into where they were sitting, and eating more delicious barbecue food. When it came time for the fireworks we returned to our perfect seats and enjoyed the show. The fireworks were spectacular and filled the entire sky right above our heads, we were so close I had little pieces of cardboard fall on me. This was by far the best time I have ever seen the annual firework show, I'm so glad Brock's family shared their excellent seats with me :)

Memorial Day Adventure

For Memorial Day Brock and I knew we wanted to get out of Wyview and do something different, but it took us a while to figure out just what. Luckily my mom had the idea of hiking up to the Timpanogos caves, something I haven't done since I was a tiny kid. So Brock and I packed up our gear and headed out early Monday morning to enjoy a nice day outside. However, as we drove up American Fork canyon we were met with the unexpected surprise of new fallen snow. We were afraid the caves would be shut down for the day because of it, but fortunately there was only about a 45 min delay. Despite the snow, or maybe even partly because of it, the hike was absolutely gorgeous. I would have liked it even if there was no cave at the top.

Top right: We both thought the cave entrance looked a lot like the gateway into Mordor in Lord of the Rings :)

Once at the top we went on an hour tour of the caves, which were beautiful and interesting in their own way. My favorite parts were the cave lake, and when they turn off all the lights so that you can see how dark it really gets in there. Your eyes can never adjust to the complete darkness so you can't even see the outline of your hand right in front of your face, kinda crazy.

After the cave tour we hiked back down, much quicker than we came up (it was hard not to run since it was such steep downhill). Then we headed back to Provo for a great lunch at Pizza Pie Cafe, completing our awesome Memorial day adventure.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Since winter started warming up into spring, or really ever since we became good friends, Brock has been trying to educate me on one of his favorite things, baseball. It started with a lesson on how to correctly throw and catch a baseball. To be honest his methods made me feel like one of the little leaguers he used to coach, but I have to admit his metaphors of poking the giant and throwing pies were pretty effective. Haha and although I'm no baseball  player, I was throwing way better than I ever have by the end of the day. After the basics it was time to hit the field to watch a real game. Since BYU's season started we've been to three games and we'll hopefully hit a few more before their last home game.

I never knew that I could actually enjoy watching baseball. I think a big part of it was that I used to get bored because I didn't really understand what was going on. Brock's been really good about answering all my questions and explaining the seemingly intricate details of the game though. Each time we go I find myself liking the sport more and more. I just regret that I never got to see Brock play back in high school, word on the street is that he's pretty amazing at the sport :) Anyway I'm hoping now that it's getting warm again outside we'll get to work on my throw a little more, I've always wanted to throw a little less like a girl. Oh and I think there's a sunflower eating lesson coming up as well which should be enlightening... haha.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ever since the 9th grade when my sister Melanie and I bought the music to Wicked both on CD and piano sheet music it has been my dream to go and see Wicked on broadway. Well the perfect opportunity came up when we found out the production's tour would take them through Boise, Idaho. We bought tickets as soon as we found out and this past Wednesday I finally had the chance to see the production that went along with the music I have loved for so long. Sadly my sister Melanie had a ballet performance coming up and could not make it, but I'm confident she will get the chance in the future, if she's not the one on stage herself by then :) On the bright side McKayla lucked out and got to use her ticket. My parents and McKayla met Brock and I in Twin Falls at my aunt Holly's house. We then all crammed into our little green car along some subway sandwiches and continued on to Boise. We had perfect timing as we got there with just the right amount of time to park and make it to our seats with a short wait before the show began. 

Wicked was everything I hoped for and more. The performers were amazing, Glinda was hilarious and Elphaba had the most amazing voice. Not only was the plot and music great, but the set pieces were incredibly intricate as well. 

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go and I definitely wouldn't mind going for a second time someday in the future.

BYU Women's Conference 2011

Last week I started the spring term here at BYU. It was a little disappointing to have such a short break at home after just completing winter semester, but that was made up for by the two whole days I got to have my mom to myself :) My mom already had plans to come to the BYU women's conference so when we realized I'd still be up here too we decided to attend together. She stayed with me in my apartment at Wyview and we spent Thursday and Friday going to classes, an amazing concert (that included people like Hilary Weeks, David Osmond, Kirby Heyborn, and pianist Josh Wright), and eating delicious food. The conference was a great experience and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to listen to talks by Sister Beck and Brother Bednar. Most of all though I enjoyed sharing the experience with my mom. I love how close we are and how the older I grow the closer friends we become. Since this post is late it happens to fall conveniently on Mothers' Day, which is perfect because I want to let my mother know how much I love and appreciate her. She is truly an amazing woman in every way and if I can reach my goal of becoming even half as good as her someday than I will feel successful. I love you Mom and Happy Mothers' Day!!! :)

Salt Lake Shopping Spree!

One of my favorite things about going to school in Provo is being so close to Salt Lake City. I love being able to take a break from campus life and enjoy a night out in the big city. Last week on Saturday the 12th, Brock and I decided that we'd earned a well deserved break and what better place to take it than to go shopping at the Gateway mall, at least I thought so and I'm glad he agreed :) We headed out about noon and spent a good 5 hours there, trying on lots of clothes as well as just checking out fun stores like the electronics place, Dicks sporting goods, and this classy/expensive purse shop (nice customer service, they even offered us little cups of water while browsing haha). Anyway, we had a great time and I was able to get some needed clothing for the coming warm weather. After we exhausted the mall we decided to stop by Temple Square since neither of us had spent much time in the visitor centers there in a long time. One of them has a new large model of the Salt Lake Temple inside that is cut away so you can see what some of the different rooms look like, it's really awesome. We also spent some time just wandering up and down the square talking and looking at the various buildings, the temple looking absolutely beautiful as always. I never get tired of touring temple square and I love that I get the chance to do so a lot more frequently now.

I forgot my camera but I did get a picture of me and my shopping spoils the next day :)

Homework on a Friday Afternoon

When the sun is shining on a beautiful Friday afternoon and it's warmer outside than it has been in months the last thing a normal person would think is that it's a great time to do homework. However, this past Friday my great friend Lachelle and I had a big chemistry test coming up and knew that was what we should probably be doing... so we decided to make it more interesting. We made a trip to the dollar store and got to work. We got some pretty great looks and funny comments, but despite the nerdiness of it all we had a blast and feel a little bit more confident about our test. Here is what we created, personally I can't think of a better way to study on such a beautiful spring day :)