PICTURES

I haven't posted anything in so long, I can't remember what I have and haven't told you about! So I'm going to just put some pictures up of what I've been doing lately and you can look through them.

The John Mayer concert with Bryan was SO great! I didn't think I'd ever get to see John in concert.

DISNEYLAND!

The whole group!

Me and Chelsea with Minnie Mouse.

This is the ride called Splash Mountain where you get sent down a 50 foot drop. The person in the front always gets really really wet haha. Bryan knew where all the camera's were on all the rides so we got to pose for some of them.

Bryan and Davis made those faces almost every time and it was really funny.

This is from a ride called the Tower of Terror that's really really scary, so I wasn't posing in this one.. but everyone else was!

Me and Lela!

I just had my last Bishop's interview for my mission papers. It went really well! After I got out Davis came by with a tandem bike and a picnic in his backpack, so we rode to a little park by our Bishop's house and ate dinner there. The sprinklers turned on in the middle of our dinner though so we had to move over to the sidewalk haha. It wasn't very comfortable but it was still fun!

CATCHING UP!

Wow! The last time I wrote was three weeks ago. Time is going by so fast. I'm glad it is though! 25 days till I can put in my mission papers. I think everyone is tired of me keeping up on that countdown haha! I'm too excited though. Last night I had a dream that I got called to St. Petersburg Russia. That's not a big deal though, I think I'm going somewhere new everyday.

There's not much to tell about. Maybe that's why I haven't written in so long. Work is good, institute is good, classes are good. Pretty boring though haha. Theatre is pretty basic. I have Astronomy with Dave Morris and he is so cool, I love having him for a teacher. He brought Dora and her little sister in to visit the other day and she has grown up so much! I didn't realize how long it had been since I had seen her. Ballet is so hard. I'm humiliated every time I go in because I'm so bad at it compared to everyone else! It's fun though. Women's choir is okay.

Last week the missionaries came to eat dinner with us. Morgan was in charge, and the missionaries told her that they wanted to eat something healthy so she decided we would have salad for dinner. at first I was super skeptical of that, but it was super good and filling! She grilled a bunch of chicken to put on the top, and then the entire table was full of things to put on our salad. I mean our table is kind of small but it was still impressive. Our missionaries are simply the best, everyone is going to be so sad when they get transferred.

The other day it rained really hard and Lela wanted to go across the street and get chips from the EAC vending machine, so we made a trip out of it and brought a big umbrella with us. We took these pictures and I'm putting them on this post so it doesn't look as boring.

This week at EAC is Homecoming Week. There has been a bunch of fun activities every night of the week, but I haven't gone to any of them because of work. They did a big purple and gold flour fight on Monday night and I heard it was super fun! The night after that they did a Pros Vs. Joes tournament and that seemed like it went good also. I got off work last night so that I could go watch Lela and Davis and some more of my friends perform at the Mr and Ms EAC pageant. Davis couldn't figure out how to tie his bow tie so I had to learn from YouTube really fast and help him with it. Mom I'm just putting this picture up so that you can see I actually got dressed and pretty at least once while I've lived in Thatcher.

Katie came to the pageant with me too and it was so fun! Everyone was hilarious. Moriah impersonated that girl from youtube, Miranda Sings, and sang "Call Me Maybe." The audience was dying laughing, she did so good. My friend Jared Wright was in it, and for his talent he just brought out a chair and sat with his back to the audience. Then a big screen rolled down and he started playing Guitar Hero. But he actually just found a YouTube video of someone getting a perfect score on a really hard song and just acted like he was playing. I know it sounds dumb but it was really funny. I wish I could have taken videos. When we go to Mesa this next weekend for Jessica's wedding I'm going to look into getting my camera fixed.

HAPPENINGS THIS WEEK.

This past Sunday was so awesome! Busy but awesome. I went to a couple hours of my singles ward in the morning and then I came to Safford and went to church with the coolest people on the planet. And during that sacrament meeting, those cool people's Dad got ordained a bishop. Such a neat experience. Guys we really do have one of the best Dads in the world. I don't know if any of you noticed it, but when dad got called to be a counselor, it changed our family so much for the better. It changed Dad too. I know that callings can always change people for the better, but only if you open your heart to it and really try. That's what Dad did. Watching him grow from that was one of the best experiences of my life. I can't even comprehend how much more everyone is going to grow from Dad having this new calling as Bishop. I'm not going to be home so I guess it'll be harder for me to see the effects, but after a few of my friends found out that Dad was Bishop, I was able to hear about a bunch of cool things. A lot of people said that you can feel the ward's prayers around you all the time. Like there is an extra strength that you can feel in your home.

After I was finished with everything at home, I went to that missionary fireside they were having at the Safford Stake Center. It was overflowing with people! Tri-Stake meetings are usually like that I know, but it was still cool to see that so many people wanted to be there. I think I use the word cool too much. Anyways, the chapel was all full except for the first two rows. It really bugs me how people never sit in the front. So that's where I sat haha. I think Jeff and Bryan felt bad for me so they moved a couple minutes before the meeting started and came and sat by me. There were two converts who spoke in the meeting. One of them was Shani Fite's dad. Shani is a girl I met while going to SHS. She is a great girl and sometimes she would express her feelings to me about her dad not being a member. I hadn't heard anything yet, so I was so surprised when her Dad stood up and said that he had gotten baptized just a couple months ago! For a newbie to the church, he sure knew how to give a talk. He did very well. After he spoke, Blaine Taylor got up and shared his experiences about being converted in high school and then going on a mission just a year later. How scary would that be!? Not knowing anything about the Book of Mormon or the gospel but just going out there! Blaine is a friend that I met at a barbecue Davis took me to the other day. He is such a strong spirit and it's obvious that the church has really changed the way he lives his life. I talked to him a little bit after the fireside about his family. He's just a really neat spirit.

After the fireside I went to Elise's house for family prayer. There was only like 15 of us. But that's pretty good for our first try I think! After family prayer we went to our Elders Quorum President, Chase McCormies, house for pop n shakes. Pop n shakes is something that Chase does once in a while on Sunday nights. You just go eat popcorn and have milkshakes and then play games or just dance or other fun stuff. Sometimes I feel kind of weird about playing just dance on Sunday though, so a lot of times I leave early. I met a ton of people that night though. I seriously think I've met like 40 new people within the past week that I absolutely adore. Sometimes when I run into one of them again it's funny because neither of us remember what the others name is so we just have to laugh and introduce ourselves again.

EA started. It's alright. I just don't have a lot of motivation to go to school right now haha. I had my audition for A Capella last night and I didn't make it in. Not gonna lie this is gonna be a rough 24 hours. Lately I have been wondering whether I need to give up music or not. No matter how hard I try I can't be a classical singer and do good things for choirs like EA needs. But I still have such a strong desire to perform and share music. Why would I have this desire so badly if I can't do anything with it? It's quite frustrating. So before my audition I was thinking all this over and wondering what my feelings were going to be if I didn't make it in. I had a lot of time to wait so I pulled out my scriptures and started reading. It was open to D&C 8. I don't know why because I don't remember reading there in my studies. Maybe there was something in there I needed for church. Anyways I opened it up and started reading verse 8. "Therefore doubt not, for it is the gift of God, and you shall hold it in your hands, and do marvelous works; and no power shall be able to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God."

I'm still not 100% sure what that personally means for me, but it was still comforting. If God wants me to use music as a gift and do marvelous works then I can, and I will eventually. And no power (not even Dr. Bishop) ( haha) (joking) can take it out of my hands. 

So those are just some things that have been happening this week. I'd gotten to busy to write the past few days, but there wasn't a lot to tell so here it is! I have to go get ready for devotional. I'll write more later! Thanks for reading!

MORMON STUFF.

The temple has been looking so so so beautiful lately. I mean it always looks pretty but even more so lately. The bushes on the side of the temple are finally growing in and they are a beautiful green.

I tried to get a good picture but it wasn't so great haha. Guess you guys will have to come see it for yourself sometime :)

Yesterday I had an appointment with the missionaries. I thought that it was just a normal appointment where they were going to talk to me about being a member missionary. But when I got to the institute where our appointment was, Bo was there. I mentioned Bo in a previous post. He is our friend that is investigating the gospel. I guess the missionaries forgot to mention that I was just there to sit in on Bo's lesson haha. It was actually super cool. I noticed that the missionaries asked questions more than they talked to him. Sometimes the best way to tech people is just to listen. People know the answers to things like whether God is real or whether he is listening, but it's hard for them to realize it until they have peace and people to point them in the right direction. Everything that Bo said was really insightful. I only spoke once when the  missionaries asked me to share how the Holy Ghost has helped me to know that the gospel is true. That's a really sensitive subject for me so I had to try really hard to keep my voice calm and my eyes dry haha. I think I pulled it off though. I just don't know if what I said was helpful to Bo or not. Usually my problem isn't saying enough, but saying too much. Once I realized that the missionaries were maybe going to ask me to talk I said a little prayer and asked Heavenly Father if he would help me to not say anything that wasn't needed. I don't know if I was helpful or if Bo is any closer to accepting the gospel, but the Spirit was definitely there.

That night we played games with a few of the same people that we played the drinking game with. It was fun but I left at like 10 haha. Then Lela and I went to do the paper route with Rachel, Katie, and Jessica. I got to talk to Rachel a lot about going a mission and I really liked that. It was fun but I was sooooo tired! When we got back to Jessica's house to sleep I was completely gone within 2 seconds. I get to see you guys tonight :)

NEW FRIENDS!

Thursday was pretty normal in the day time. It's been nice to kind of take this week to relax and try to lose this cold I have had. But I am just SO excited that all the new kids are finally starting to move in and get ready for school next week, because that means new friends! Me and Elise decided that every Thursday we are going to try to have a game night, and open it up to anyone who wants to come. Last night was our first attempt at it, and it was a HUGE success! Easily the funnest time I have ever had at EA so far! I met a lot of new people. The first thing we played was a mormon drinking game.

Haha let me explain. When we play drinking games, we pick a movie that everyone knows or has seen before. The movie we picked was The Princess Bride. Then you pick a few words/names that are said a lot in the movie. We picked Buttercup, Westley, Hummperdinck, and 'True Love.' Then everyone gets their little plastic shot glasses (I feel like a sinner for explaining this) and picks the drinks they want to use. I just used orange juice and water, but most other people drank Gatorade or soda. Every time one of the selected words is said in the movie you have to take a shot. If you have to get up to use the bathroom or you miss a shot, then you are out of the game. It may not sound very fun or hard but OH MY WORD IT WAS SO DIFFICULT. I thought I would be out after like 20 shots, but I surprised myself and made it through the whole movie! Lela was tallying all the shots because she was too sick to play, and at the end of the movie she said their had been 92 shots throughout the movie. Do you remember the part in the movie where they go to Miracle Max and his wife comes out and yells "HUMPERDINK! Humperdink Humperdink Humperdink" and then just keeps saying it over and over? Everyone was DYING at that part! But laughing just made it harder to keep all the water in haha. I know this probably sounds so stupid but it was so fun.

We played so more games after that, and I think everyone really enjoyed their selves. School starts in 3 days and I am so excited to make even more friends!

CASSIE'S BIRTHDAY

Wednesday was Cassie's birthday! Her boyfriend Jared surprised her by hanging up a banner by her parking spot that said Happy Birthday in really big letters. Then he got her flowers, chocolate, and wrote her a really sweet card. She let me read the card and in it he calls her 'Ohema' which means Queen in African. He went on his mission somewhere in South Africa. Isn't that so sweet?? I hope they get married. He is a really great guy and really great to Cassie.

At 9:00 that morning I had to go to EA Orientation. It was hot and boring. Go EAC.

When I got home I was soooo tired so I took a nap and then waited around for Cassie to leave with her parents to dinner so that we could start getting her surprise party together. After she left we cleaned the family room and the kitchen. Then when she came in we yelled surprise and sang happy birthday while she blew out candles. It was pretty basic stuff.

Cassie edited this kind of ghetto so Moriah's arm looks black. Hahaha

 I stayed long enough to get the party rolling and turn some music on, then I went to Elise's house and went to sleep. Elise came home at about midnight. I woke up when she came in and then stayed up to talk to her for a long time. She is a really great friend and I'm so glad that I met her. I talk to Elise about pretty much everything!

You see that guy on the very right side of the picture? That's our friend Bo. he has been taking the missionary discussions and they set a baptism date as a goal, which means that he hasn't officially agreed to get baptized, but that's how long they are going to wait to see if he wants to or not. He is a really funny guy. Kind of strange, but we adore him. He was friends with the girls that lived here before us, and he always jokes that he comes with this house as a package deal. Sometimes he comes to sacrament meeting with us and he seems to like it. We have the best missionaries in the world serving here right now, and if anyone can get Bo to be baptized I know it will be those two.

Pretty boring post. But it was a pretty boring day! Now there are two 20 year olds in our house. During the party I was thinking about how I'm not going to be here for my 20th birthday, and that actually makes me pretty happy! I can't wait to go!

TEMPLE TUESDAY

I love Temple Tuesday! This morning I went at 9:30 to do baptisms. All the brethren were in a session so I had to wait for a little while until they could get to the baptistry. I didn't mind though because Sis. McCrae was working and she is one of my favorite people in the whole world! So me and her just talked for like 20 or 30 minutes while I waited. Her daughters went on missions so sometimes she shares stories with me about how her daughters liked their missions. President Cox (Is that how you spell his name?) had some family  names he needed done so I got to do those. I love it when the people you are baptizing for have the same last names, because then you know that you are baptizing a family. And picturing a family finally getting to be together after waiting so long is awesome. Especially when you get to be a part of it. Sometimes before I baptize I ask them to let me see the cards so I can look at the date of death on them. Then I can see how long they have been waiting. It's really cool to do that, but sometimes kind of sad. Like the people that had to wait 200 years or more to get their ordinances done?? SO crazy! I'm just glad they don't have to wait any longer once I'm done!

After I got home from the temple most of the girls were still in bed. So I lied in my room and talked to Jessica about her wedding for a while. She is pretty stressed about it, but then whenever Sean calls her on the phone she gets so happy, and they are just so in love that it doesn't even matter how stressful the wedding is haha. After I lied around for a while and acted lazy I decided I better get up and do something with myself. So I went back to the temple and studied Preach My Gospel for a while. I tried to memorize the first vision. It's not that bad but I always get the "brightness of the sun" and "brightness and glory defy all description" parts mixed up. In mission prep they challenged us to see if we can relate the first vision for over 60 seconds and that is SUPER HARD. Seriously so hard. The most I can get it to is like 45 seconds haha. But it's important to go slow and pause a lot because the first vision is a lot for people to take in!

After the temple I went to Lela's house to help her move her room back upstairs. Leslie moved in with them so it kind of moved the room arrangements around. I was only there for a couple hours then I came home to get ready for a date that I had with a guy named Cody Elmer. We went bowling.. yay. My favorite thing haha. I actually have a really funny story to tell about that when I see you guys. We doubled with Devin Brown and a nice girl named Lavita. The date was short, I got home at 10, 10:30ish. After the date a lot of our friends went to Elise's house and played the FUNNEST game, I have to show it to you guys when I come for the sleepover. Then after that we went to Denny's because it was like 2 in the morning so technically it was Cassie's birthday already. So it was a really long eventful night. After I got home from Denny's, it seemed like an eternity since I gone to the temple that same morning. But I live so close so I can go back every day if I want to! I LOVE living next to the temple, and I love that we have a temple so close to us!