LONDON

As you may or may not know, just got back from a two week trip......to EUROPE! It was definitely the most wonderful, life-changing, amazing thing that I've ever done and will probably ever do. And it is all thanks to my fabulous parents that I was able to go. I don't think there can ever be enough thanks in the world to tell them how grateful to them I am. 

I obviously can't write about the whole trip in one post because it would be ridiculously long and boring and no one would ever want to read that, so I shall do it in countries. Ish. Lichtenstein will be in with Austria because that country is so itty bitty.

The plane ride to Minneapolis and then to London were sooo much fun! Just kidding, I slept the whole time. But I did get to sit by the same two fabulous people on both flights. When we arrived at the airport in London I was so so so grateful that it was an English speaking country, because I already had no idea what to do and would be dead if I couldn't understand them. But I almost died anyway because, of their amazing (I'm going to be using a lot of amazing and fabulous and fantastic in these posts so you better get used to it now) accents! 

Wicked. Oh my was that ever amazing!! Their acting was beyond amazing and I loved the story! I will never think about The Wizard of Oz in the same way again. I got the chills so many times! I wish I could have recorded it so I could watch it again!

Our performance in the Embankment gardens was, well it sucked, but it was fun! I loved watching the audience when we were performing! There was the one old guy who goes to every Ambassadors of Music performance but only ever wears boxer shorts things who was sitting in the front row. And then there was the guy who had the American flag and the British flag and would wave them all the time. It was pretty windy that day so keeping our music on our stands was a struggle, as was the super small stage.

The London Eye a.k.a. the greatest view ever! It was slightly terrifying but totally worth it! 

That awkward spot on the left side is on the lens

I didn't notice it until I got home, so it's on most the pictures

Who knew that an art museum could be so fun! Megan, Bena, and I had the time of our lives. At first it was boring, and mega hot, but then we found the kids section of art. Talk about adorable! Then we decided to bench hop from room to room, because we had been on our feet all day for several days and we had to take the opportunity to sit when we could because there weren't many. And then the real fun began, we found a room with a big cushioned bench, with a big air conditioning vent underneath. So we sat there for  a long time making up stories for each of the paintings. It was hilarious, especially since none of them came close to the actual meaning. 

On our last day in London Megan and I made a quick late night (we made it back in time for curfew, don't worry) snack run to a little store just around the corner from our hotel. When we walked in there was this older British gentleman who asked us where we were from and got super excited when we said Utah. He introduced us to his granddaughter and then got excited when we told him how old we were. We could hear him talking to her after that and he kept telling her in a really happy voice that we were Americans. It totally made my night!

Oh man, did I have the best roommates! Megan and Bena are so much fun to be around! We all got along super well and all have stomach issues! I was super surprised on how quickly we clicked. We had some crazy awesome times in that hotel. ;)

Not to brag or anything, but our bus (excuse me, coach) was definitely the best! They let us sleep, and the chaperones would tell us when to wake up so we didn't miss anything awesome, which was nice because some of the other buses tried to keep their kids awake the whole time. We also had dance parties (but only in the front because the back slept). During one of those one of the chaperones decided that he was going to crowd surf down the isle between the seats. He only made it half way though, because like I said, everyone in the back was sleeping. ;) We played iPod idol, which was hilarious to watch but thankfully didn't have to actually participate in. We played a game where the two sides of the coach raced a neck pillow down to see who could get there the fastest. And every morning they played a song called Good Morning Beautiful. It's now one of my favorite songs! (It's by Steve Holy if you wanted to go listen to it)

One of my favorite things about London, actually about Europe in general, is their buildings. I love how old they are and how they are designed! They are just so beautiful! I wish we had buildings like that in America! And then there was our guide around the city. She had the best Scottish accent and when she would say "ble" we had to say "uuu" (it's like a cross between ooooo and eh) and I have no idea how to spell that but it basically became our coach cheer thing. I miss this wonderful, beautiful city so much! I love how the people don't really use the walk signs, they just walk across when cars aren't really coming. I love their accent. I love the moments I had there with the wonderful people I was able to meet. I loved every moment of it and wouldn't change it for the world!

Music People Are My Favorite People

Life has been a whirlwind of crazy lately. And as it turns out, people can be really nice and just lovely. So, it's story time. 

*Warning: This contains musical lingo and I will not be explaining it because I have done too much of that lately, so just google anything you don't understand.

A week and a half ago, as I was practicing for my Europe trip, I noticed a leak in my piccolo. So, after my freakishly long (it was almost 6 hours) orientation for SLCC I took it over to Summerhays. I basically told the guy I had to have it fixed to day because of my trip, and he did it. It was wonderful to have it working properly again. Fast forward to Friday, the third and final day of our practices, also the day of our Bon Voyage concert. 

All practice Friday I could tell something was wrong with my picc. Every few lines or so a note would come out wrong because one of my keys was sticking. And me being me, slightly freaked out Friday. Why? Because Summerhays was closed the next day because it was independence day and the day after that was Sunday and then I left the day after that. Saturday my dad would not let it go, thank goodness, and ended up putting it up on this 24/7 yard sale thing on Facebook to see if anyone had a piccolo we could buy from them. Who would have guessed that someone on that page knew the manager, THE FREAKING MANAGER, of the Summerhays we go to! So they gave my dad his phone number and he called him.

This manager deserves a freaking award or something because he had us go in, on a Sunday which they are closed on, of a holiday weekend so that he could look at my picc. He wasn't able to fix it right then so he gave us a loaner piccolo. And now I'm sitting here taking a break from my practice of getting used to this piccolo to type this. They are going to fix my picc while I'm in Europe and then when I get back we'll basically swap. And he gave us his number and told us to call him if there is anything wrong with this picc and he would make sure that they were able to have a new one or have my old one fixed before tomorrow morning when I go to the airport. I LOVE SUMMERHAYS! 

So, if you are ever renting or buying an instrument-GO TO SUMMERHAYS! 

For some reason, I tend to have instruments break on me just a few days before my performances. Oh, well! They make funny stories later! And you get to find out just how great people can be.

The Power of Prayer

I went to institute for the first time yesterday, although it is a special class just for graduated seniors it still counts. And WOAH! The spirit was SO strong there! 

One thing that our teacher made us commit to doing was reading one general conference talk every day. He even made us make this pinky promise with the people near us. He made us promise that if we didn't do it we would never get a kiss. And let me tell you, I take pinky promises very seriously. So last night, I (half because I promised I would and half because I was interested in seeing what blessings I would get, because our teacher promised blessings to us) listened to a talk last night. I didn't notice any super awesome blessings right away, but holy cow was it a huge blessing when it came! 

So I'm listening to another talk tonight as I was getting ready for bed and as I was putting aloe vera on, I burn easily so what, the speaker talked about Alice in Wonderland. He referred to the part where Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which way to go and he says it depends on where you want to get to. That was a direct answer to my prayers. For over a year I've been praying about if going up to USU for college will be the right decision to make. I've heard that you shouldn't necessarily ask Heavenly Father what to do, instead you should ask Him if your decision is right. So I tried that. And when I heard this quote I knew it was. I want to, in addition to being a pediatric nurse, be a music therapist. And USU is one of the best, and only, colleges that has that program. I didn't know if that was the right thing I should be doing with my life but when I heard that quote it was like an immediate yes. 

I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. I know that deciding to go to institute was the right decision, if only because I got the challenge to read one conference talk a day. I will not ever just read one every day just to fulfill my promise. I will do it because I want to hear what the prophets have to say and because I know that I need to listen and apply what they are saying into my life. I am so grateful for this gospel and for the knowledge that my prayers will ALWAYS be answered. 

Here's the web address of the conference talk, I strongly encourage you to read it! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/if-you-will-be-responsible?lang=eng

Gradiation and All That Jazz

Once again, whoops! I write blog posts in my mind, but for the last few weeks have been to busy (kind of, I've also been too lazy) to actually write them out. So, life lately has been, well, a little crazy.

I GRADUATED! That's right! I can now check the box that says high school diploma on all of my future job applications. 

Added this pic just 'cause

The last few weeks of high school were pointless. Really. I took naps, watched movies, Facebook-ed, and read. But I did it! Woooo!!

So what's next in life for me you ask? Practicing my flute for June, getting ready for my trip to.............EUROPE! I'm going to seven different countries on a band tour with Utah Ambassadors of Music. I am so stinkin' excited! I play the piccolo part. The band is HUGE. I'm talking 96 people total! ELEVEN flutes. And SIX tubas. (Every time I think of the glorious low brass section, actually all the brass, I sigh. I LOVE low brass!) It's glorious. Megan and I decided we have to come home with boyfriends ;) 

Hey look! I got my letter saying I'm a real CNA.

After Europe, I hope to get a job working as a CNA. Did I mention that I'm a CNA? No? Oh, well I took the CNA class at the tech center during my senior year of high school. That sounds so weird to say it like that! I love working as one and it makes me SO SO SO SO much more excited to someday work as a nurse! I love health and taking care of people! After a year or two at SLCC I want to go on a mission. I'm hoping for Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, or some other place like that. But anywhere would really be fantastic. And then, for now, I want to go to USU and get my nursing degree and also hopefully be a music therapist too. But that's not set in stone yet. Well, the nurse part is but where and what else and all that isn't. I've wanted to be a nurse since I was 12 and visited my baby cousin in PCH when she was visiting from Canada. 

So, that's my recent past, present, and future-ish.  

PROM PRIM PRAM PROM

Do you know how fantastic friends are? Way more than fantastic. So fantastic in fact that they practically make you go to prom stag since we are obviously way to cool to get asked. Who needs boys anyways? Not us, that's for sure! But really, that was one of the best days I have lived through. 

Where to begin? The beginning, I guess. I woke up early, we're talking 6:30 early, to go running so I could shower before my brothers friends came over. And then my favorite mother and I went to the place where we rented my dress from and picked it up. Then it was time to frantically clean before everyone came over to bake sugar cookies at mi casa. And then was the superbly fun part of doing my hair and make up, which I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. And then came making a huge mess in the kitchen (a.k.a. making sugar cookies) which involved a lot of eating the dough and laughing. Next, my best friend let me do her hair! I love doing other people's hair and once again I was thoroughly satisfied with how it turned out. 

Spaghetti Factory deserves it's own paragraph. We got there, feeling like princesses. And as we were waiting for a table a family walked in and a little girl, no older than 3 or 4, said something along the lines of "Look, Princesses!" Needless to say I have been hung up on that line since then. It gave me chills. It was like the greatest thing of my life. Next came the fabulous people working there. There was a busboy who, hopefully, thought we were gorgeous because he cleaned the same table three times and no one had sat there in between! It was hilarious! And then our waiter was super kind, he gave me a free salad, even though I'm pretty sure they don't let people just order side salads there, he let me! And for our desert when I said I couldn't eat it he assured me that he had something in mind that I could eat. He came back out with one of those little popsicle things that they serve in like elementary school. It was the sweetest thing. And then there was our hostess, who was the greatest lady. We saw her again in the restroom and asked her to take our picture, so she clocked out and came outside to take it! She was so kind and lovely.

Did I mention that I seriously felt like a freaking princess? Because I did and you should know that.

We got lost on the way to the dance, and ended up at a cemetery. If it wasn't raining so hard I'm pretty sure we would have gotten out and danced there. It probably would have given those old bones quite a hoot. The actual dance was hot. Like Nevada in the middle of July hot. Plus wearing a dress that had like a billion layers. I thought I was going to die. But oh my goodness, everyone there was so gorgeous!! It was wonderful! I twirled quite a bit, but who can blame me, the dress twirled wonderfully! 

After the dance, we were all tired and so we went back to my house and played a game of Apples to Apples. And then we went home. All of us dead tired. 

And of course, I wore my dress to church the next day. And it was darling and all the little 8 year olds were enchanted. I wish I could stay feeling like that forever, but I guess that makes me even more excited for my future wedding, because I know that's the kind of dress I want to wear. Even as I write this I think about that dress. *Sigh* And that adorable girl who called us princesses. That pretty much made my life. Unfortunately, as all good things, it had to come to an end. But I couldn't have asked for a better day with better people. Except maybe if all of us had actual dates, that would have been nice ;)

 

Edit: This post was supposed to be posted like 2 weeks ago but spacey me apparently pressed save instead of publish. Whoops! Oh, well! 

The Magic of Chocolate (And a Good Book)

We all know how magical chocolate is, healing us from practically every ailment known to man. But did you know, in combination with a good book and a homemade mani you have the best cure for anything? 

Well it's true. I can personally attest to that. 
After a particularly gruesome morning with a four hour long AP test, I went home, gave myself a mani, and grabbed a fantastic book with a chocolate bar. Nothing to cheer you up like this combination! (But seriously, who the heck would ever come up with such a horrible idea as to make this horribly hard test from a class that was hard enough just taking it day by day?!) Furthermore, everyone knows that tests on Mondays are the worst day possible to take a test. So why on earth would you schedule an AP test for Monday morning at 8 o'clock!?!

In case you are wondering, I took the AP Music Theory test....I would say that I bombed it. It was probably more of a failure than the success of sliced bread. But that's okay, it's the journey that counts, right? I'm sure if I keep telling myself that it'll come true some day. 

A word of advice: If you ever make the horrible, slightly smart, decision to take an AP class, and then go through with the AP test, I would absolutely say take the rest of the day off and go give yourself a mani and read and eat chocolate while your nails dry. Actually, if you ever need a pick me up for any reason this is a lovely choice. Isn't the word lovely, just, well lovely? I'm in love with it and I'm sorry if I use it excessively.

Drop Zone is part of one of my favorite series called the Saint Squad Series and I recommend it to everyone. It's more of a romtion (like romance and action, get it?).  The author is Traci Hunter Abramson, in case you couldn't tell. ;) Also, I like to pretend I came up with this nail design all by myself....actually I think I really did, although someone somewhere has probably done this same thing.

My Blog. MY blog. My blog?

For AGES I've wanted a blog, and now I have one. The only problem? WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES ONE DO WITH A BLOG?! Do I tell you all the awkward, embarrassing stories of my life, or give you advice that I should probably follow? Do I just let my fingers fly across the keys and hope something good comes from it? Do I sit and plan out every single word of my post or just put a picture or two, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. How often do I post? How much is too much? I guess we'll just have to see what happens. I suppose I should also apologize now for anything that might happen in the future, just to cover my bases. So, I'm sorry if I offend you, or make fun of you, or anything else. And I'm sorry if my posts are the weirdest, most random things on the planet, get used to it. Lastly, I have absolutely no idea how to do this, bear with me.