Mehico Day 2

Wednesday 26 May 2010

AMAZING DAY! Had another Mehican breakfast – which is WAY too much food – but I feel like I have to eat it because they dish it for me. Then Erik from Manos Unidas (the orphanage) came to pick us up. We ran a few errands including going to see their ranch – where they had just killed and plucked a chicken who once had lovely feathers. A dog ran off with its intestines. Excuse me, it was a rooster who ran off with the entrails.
We got to the orphanage and to be honest, I was pretty nervous. At lnch I ended up sitting next to a girl who was all by herself. She was about 14. Then another came - and they spoke so fast. i couldn't understand a word! I just know they were talking about me though.
Ramon came over after and we played outside for a bit. We broke out the bubbles which were a huge hit. Ramon's little sister Paulina snuggled right up. Oh my. She is a little doll. I love her. There are about 25 kids liveing there and the "parents" are absolutely amazing. Just incredible people..
Anway, they have a bounce house which creates AMAZING amounts of fun. At one point, i clamored up to the top where I sat for a second when someone bumped me from behind and I went tumbling over and in the process karate kicked, in slow motion, a fellow VIDA member in the head sending her in slow motion sprawing on her back. Great moment.
We played a lot with the kids and boy, did they wear us out. I was definitely ready to go home. When we did, we got cleaned up and I took a lot of flack for blow drying my hair. Yes, I brought a blow dryer. Then we drove through town to find some amazing hot dogs. I didn't eat one - my tummy has been crammed with co-mida since I got here. i just got a true Mehican coke and let me just say its a bazillion times better in Mehico.
Then we went to the fair. The first thing i did was get a fake tattoo - right on my arm. It's a Chinese character that says "love," but I keep telling people it means "mother." It just sounds better.
We went on three different rides - all of which looked extremely dangerous. I was to chicken to go on the horror train ride. Apparently the horror of it was that there were a bunch of kids touching you when you went by. Let me tell you, all the girls were screaming at the guy sitting next to them to stop touching them. We met back up with everyone and I saw a bunch of lucha dora masks. I had to have one. So I found one that looked like Nacho Libre's and bought it. It's hilarious. I had it on and could not stop laughing. I bought an ice cream cone right before and wanted to take some pictures. When I was done I put my camera in my purse and mashed my ice cream cone in my purse right along with it. Nice.

Mehico

I realize I didn't post anything about my trip to Obregon. It was a blast. I had such a great time I'm going back over Thanksgiving. The good news is that my mom won't shoot me either because her family is coming to town the next week so that is when we'll have the real Thanksgiving. I kept a pretty good journal for most of it...

23 May 2010
I really feel like I lost a full day yesterday. Lindsey was a crazy driver and most of us got kind of sick. We finlally made it to Tuscon around 7:30 and hopped on a bus to take us to Obregon around 10:00 or so. I got to sleep on the bus pretty well and then when we got to Nogales (border town), we all had to get off and push a button. Randomly the light would turn red instead of green and they would go through your bags. Luckily mine was green because my bags were chuck full and I didnt' want everything to spill out. I needed to use the bathroom (surprise) and discoverd two toilets - side by side - with no divider, no screen - nothing. And NO toilet paper. Good thing Kristen had tissues in her pocket and gave me some when it was my turn or I would have had issues.
I got on the bus and slept most of the rest of the trip which ended at about 8:30 or 9:00 (a.m. Yeah, it was a long drive). We got here and drove to the FAI headwuarters, ate some breakfast, and then headed off to either the orphanage or to the job site. I went to build the house and got fried crispy.
Anyway, we are building a house for a family with three boys and a baby firl. - Jesus, Rafael, Christian, and America. Their house now is unbelievable. It's made of crates, a sheet, some scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard. They have a dirt floor. What's even worse, some of their neighbors live in even more terrible conditions. Breaks my heart.
We are building a house out of adobe bricks and mortar. It's a tiny house, but is much more stable and has a bathroom connected. The floor is concrete. It costs only $4800 to build this house. It makes me realize how much I take for granted.
We worked for a while and went to another FAI office where they prepared us a lunch and then we put together some puzzle mats so we could take a siesta. I couldn't sleep. The floor was so hard. Everyone else woke up and we headed back to the jobsite. We finished four walls and we start the cement supports in the morning. Mixing cement is tough.

Chicago 6 of 6: Easter time!

Boy am I a slacker. Looks like I might have run out of steam. Either that or I got busy. I think I’ll stick with the second one. Anyway, I rolled out of bed again around 8. I just couldn’t get up! Annalisa had made a delicious breakfast of amazing French toast. If you want a delicious breakfast, you should make it. Yum. I felt like a bit of a skunk because they were all dressed up in their Sunday clothes (it being Sunday, and all). But since it was Conference, I didn’t bring a dress of any sort. So I was just in jeans. Oh well.
We dyed eggs. So fun! I haven’t done that in years! I made a upper cool swirly egg. Actually, that’s the only egg I dyed. But it was fun watching Addie and Greg do it together. She is just the sweetest little girl and Greg and Annalisa are just so sweet with her. I loved seeing their family together.

Well, then conference was starting so we all gathered around the internet. It was nice that we didn’t have to go to the church or something to watch it. The internet really makes life so much easier! Anyway, that session was amazing! And Addie was so good. I was impressed by that little one ;)
Then I had to go upstairs and get ready so I didn’t have buffalo wallow woman hair, and Addie came up with me so the easter bunny could come. She seriously is such a crack up. She loved getting into my stuff. Anyway, when they were ready, we went outside. The Easter bunny had left me a basket too! Complete with Zac Efron erasers. All of my dreams came true. She was so darn cute. Anyway, we went on a hunt to find everything. Addie got hung up on putting rocks in her basket. It was awesome.

Then, when I dumped those out for her, every time she found an egg, she would open it and start shoving all the candy into her mouth. Hilarious! The hunt was taking way too long so we started making little piles of eggs so she wouldn’t have to stop so many times to open the eggs. Well it didn’t really seem to help because even though she couldn’t eat the candy anymore, she had to open all the eggs anyway. Then Greg made me find the hardest egg. It fell down in the wheel well. He just likes to see me get confused and exasperated. I’m sure I would laugh at myself too if I saw it. Anyway, I did find it, thanks to Annalisa’s subtle hints :)

When the hunt was over, we did a little bit of a photo shoot. It was fun to play with a real camera and I got a little bit jealous. Maybe one day, I will get a nice big camera with different lenses and take some nice photos. But for now, I will let other people take those pictures… which is what I let Annalisa do the whole trip. So most of the pictures, in fact, all but two, were taken by the BFF and her awesome camera. Then we went inside and watched another hour of conference and it was time for me to go. So sad! I really didn’t want to leave! I seriously had so much fun and it wasn’t like on most other trips when you are ready to go home. I wanted to be able to stay longer. Wah.
So we piled in the car and drove to the airport. We said goodbye and I lugged my 34 pound suitcase around.

I started reading and looked outside and it was pouring. Chicago was crying that I was leaving. It just loved me being in its city limits. So I boarded the plane. An hour later we took off. I get kind of mad when that happens, but I was mostly ok because I had a great book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The BFF loaned it to. I absolutely loved it!! It was so cute and I couldn’t put it down. So I was actually kind of gladd I had more time on the plane to read it. That is, until the guy behind be started sneezing. The first time he did it, I flew out of my seat it scared me so badly. You guys, I can’t even tell you how loud it was! It was like he was shooting a potato gun. The guy next to me found it more entertaining that I was flying out of my seat every time I did it. But then the sneezer started blowing his nose. He sounded like a fog horn! How can you blow your nose as loud as a blow horn? I don’t know, because I can’t even YELL that loudly. Well, so I decided to put on my headphones to try and drown that guy out, but I was still jumping out of my seat every five minutes. I almost turned around and yelled at the guy nfor being so inconsiderate and sneezing every five minutes. That’s what happens when I get frustrated with the noises people are making. Luckily, the white and peacemakery part of my personality was there to reign me in and I didn’t say anything. But man I was glad to get off that plane. I read all but 20 pages of my book. And then I finished in peace at my own house.

Chicago 4 of 6: Naperbille and the Tivoli

So Friday was a wonderful day. Again I rolled out of bed a little after 8. Time changes always take a toll on me. And I had been eating a ton of food, so rolling out of bed makes a lot of sense. I think both the BFF and I were a little tuckered out so we lounged around for a bit downstairs. We watched more episodes of Psych. Seriously, I am a Psych convert. Love it. We went to Wal-mart to exchange a movie I brought for the BFF. I made a huge gamble on whether she had bought it or not. Good thing I’m not a real gambler. I think I would be in trouble. In trouble and very destitute.

Anyway, while the BFF was getting ready, I decided to do little Addie’s hair in French braids. She was a dream to work with. Seriously. She just sat there and let me do it. My mom fusses more when I do her than Addie did. So there we were, her in her little rocking chair that the BFF had just bought from TJ Maxx (She is very proud of the purchase, which she should be, because it is adorable. And she apparently really likes TJ Maxx (you know I had to put that in there)) and I was doing her hair in little piggies. I loved it. I loved how cute she looked afterward. I loved how she said “Thang you.” I fell even more in love with that little doll.

About twenty or so minutes from Downer’s Grove, the BFF’s neighborhood, is another suburb called Naperville. Or, as pronounced by Miss Addie, “Naperbille.” I wish you could hear her voice when she says it. So darling. We drove down there to walk around. Talk about a place dripping in charm! We walked across the bridge which reminded me so much of the bridge in Anne of Green Gables. I love that book. And then Annalisa confessed that she had finally watched the movies. (“How could you have been friends for so long and you hadn’t made her watch it?!” Greg wanted to know. BFFs are sometimes flawed).
Then we walked around the cute quaint little downtown. Seriously. It reminded me a little bit of Gilmore Girls. And Annalisa and I used to watch Gilmore Girls together. So it was doubly fun. We ate a pizzeria and got deep dish pizza. Talk about delicious. I love cheese. And I love bread. So it is a perfect combination. Besides, isn’t deep dish pizza a Chicago tradition? I know the picture makes it look not delicious, but believe you me, it really is.

Then, as we all know I ALWAYS have room for ice cream. So we went and got gelato. I can’t believe I thought I was living before I tried that gelato. I had it before, but I must have forgotten about it. If you have never had gelato, you haven’t really lived. And I would hate to waste my life. So I will be eating more gelato. We walked around a bit more and after Addie decided that she was ready to go home, we went.

We puttered around a bit more at home and then headed off to Trader Joe’s. Seriously, why can’t we have a Trader Joe’s here? Probably because I would waste all my take home pay on chocolaty things I would probably scarf down while I was reading and not really enjoy it… That’s why.

The whole time I was in Chicago, Addie had a fascination with looking through all my things. I was tired after Trader Joe’s (or was it before? I don’t remember…), so I decided to lie on my bed and supervise while she was going through it all. Then Annalisa came in and we started talking. Addie decided that coming up on the bed with us was more fun so she grabbed a book and came on up. She has become a regular parrot repeating everything she hears. Annalisa said something to which I replied, “Whatever.” Still looking at her book Addie just said, “Whatebber.” I love little kid lisps! And I think that became a catchphrase for the rest of the trip. Probably the rest of my life. Oh and just one more funny thing about Addie. She was wearing the cutest little dress. Annalisa had to change her diaper and before she could get the new one on her, Addie jumped up and ran away with her dress tucked up in her little cheeks. I am laughing about that as I type. It just reminded me of Calvin and Hobbs.

So, have I mentioned that the BFF is a magnificent cook? Well she is. And she made dinner again. It was a delicious crock pot roast on sandwiches. I couldn’t find the recipe on the cooking blog, but there are tons of other ones on there. And by the way, they are having a giveaway, so you will want to go on over there anyway. Mcconkiemenu.blogspot.com. It was heavenly. And filling too.

Greggamous put lil’ Addie to bed and Annalisa and I headed over to the Tivoli movie theater. Oh. My. Heck. This is not your run of the mill mega-plex folks. This is a real old fashioned movie theater with one screen. It has the chandeliers and the medallions on the ceiling and red velvet curtains and red velvet seats. How I love red velvet seats! It makes for a real movie experience! Even if we hadn’t seen a show and just went and sat there for an hour and a half, I would have loved it. But we did see a movie: Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. Now I know I have said that I am a sucker for a series, but I have not yet read Percy Jackson. Which I think is a good thing because then I had nothing to compare the movie to. It was entertaining but really had a lot of holes, but if you are looking for an entertaining ‘tween fantasy, then by all means you should watch it!

Chicago 3 of 6: Polish Food and Cantigny Gardens

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got about a million phone calls regarding the sale of Beyonce posted on KSL. Mean April Fool’s joke. Alana and Steve will get theirs. We all have a year to plan it. They put up my brother’s, two of my sisters’ and my car for sale, another brother’s pugs, another brother’s dog, and my dad’s chickens for sale. The chickens got the most calls…

Anyway, I rolled out of bed around 8:00, which felt like 7:00, which is earlier than I get up on regular days. I was sleepy. But the BFF and little Addi-kins had been up for a long time. We fancied a work out so we went to the local YMCA. It’s actually a gym. Did you know that? I didn’t. I thought it was a place where they hold scrabble tournaments and other such things. But no, a gym it is. And a gym with state of the art equipment. I couldn’t figure out how to get my treadmill to start because there were so many colors and buttons to push, but I think I preferred it to my own gym… As I was walking (I blame it on a bum knee that I can’t run, but maybe I just hate it?), I read more of The Hunger Games. Seriously, this book had me all wrapped around it’s little pages. Now reading and walking is not dangerous like eating and reading, well, as long as it’s on a treadmill and not actually walking anywhere…

We got done at the YMCA and headed home, got cleaned up,and headed off to a store called Michaels. Guess what they had? Polish stuff! I was so excited! I grabbed a bunch of Kubus, zurek soup, milka chocolate bars, princessa bars, pierniczki, delicji, and some other things. I seriously was a kid in the candy store. I have the best BFF for taking me there. Oh and by the way, today is the four year anniversary of my being back from Poland. Anyway, then we went and got some delicious sandwiches from a sub shop. I can’t remember what it’s called but boy howdy they were delicious! We met Greg (the hub) at his school and ate with him. He likes to hassle me. Addie was so cute running around and playing with him and I realized that the BFF has the cutest little family I have ever seen. She and the hub really are a perfect match. They just complement each other perfectly. And they are such great parents. That kid will always know how much they love her, and each other at that.

Anyway, Greggy-Pants had to go to class so we went to Target to find a sweater of Annalisa’s that I coveted. Didn’t find the sweater but I walked away with a different sweater, a hat, shirt, and Sherlock Holmes (I love that movie!). I tend to buy a lot of stuff when I’m on vacation… But it was in my budget!

Well, then we drove out to Cantigny Gardens. Um, hello! It was so beautiful! It was the estate of Robert McCormick who was an editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. He left his estate as a public garden and museum so everyone could enjoy it. Nothing was blooming, but there were trees everywhere and the grass was so green. Gorgeous. Addie had a great time too. We let her out of the stroller and she sat down on the path and started making piles of rocks. She’s such a hilarious little kid.
We walked after a bit around a little pond. Addie was standing on the ledge when Annalisa told her to get down. Then the BFF picked up a stick and walked over to what looked like a mushroom growing in the water with pond scum skirting it. She started poking it and I leaned in from the path to get a better look. It was pretty squishy and I really wanted to know what it was. So I told her to flip it over. As she was trying to turn it, she realized it was a dead animal. So disgusting! I screamed and beat feet out of there with Annalisa and Addie trailing behind me. I have never been an animal lover…

Well, we were getting tired and it was time to head out. Addie was plumb worn out. See?

We got home and made dinner. Sweet and sour chicken. Divine! We had a really fun time at dinner, put Addie to bed, and Greg went downstairs to study. So of course the BFF and I HAD to go get ice cream at the parlor around the block. I ALWAYS have room for ice cream! Besides, we had to walk there, so that cancels out the bad things, right? We came back to the house and watched a few episodes of Psych. This is one of my new favorite shows. It is just perfect for me! I love crime shows, I love slap stick humor, and I love Shawn and Gus. Besides, they have about a million movie references so it’s a perfect fit. If you haven’t watched it, watch it. You just might love it. I was really tired so of course I fell asleep. And then I woke up telling Annalisa that I, in fact, was not sleeping, to which she replied that she never accused me of sleeping. I incriminated myself. So we decided it was time to go to bed. We got ready for bed, I shut my door pretty loudly apparently because it woke up Addie. Sorry Annalisa and Greg! But then I was wide awake after that, so I read the rest of The Hunger Games. I was gripped till the very end. And then I had really weird and gory dreams. But reading the book was worth it.

Chicago 2 of 6: Walking and the Theatuh

Wednesday morning I woke up to my alarm clock set for eight. Annalisa had been up for quite a while. I felt like what I would imagine hangover would feel like. Me no likey. But the sun was shining. It was such a gorgeous day! So I went downstairs where Addie was laying on the couch watching her “show.” She was shy. And she was scared of me at first. The BFF was busying herself in the kitchen making the most delicious German Pancakes. It was like eating fluffy heaven. The BFF and her family have a cooking blog: McConkie Menu. The homemade stuff she made while I was there is all on there. If you want to spice things up in your dinner and food and dessert life, you should go there. She is an amazing cook. I practically had to be rolled out of her house when she was taking me back to the airport…

Well, The BFF, and her name is Annalisa for those of you who don’t know that, had an appointment that morning so we decided to walk. Seriously, the weather was absolutely perfect. And the neighborhoods we walked through were downright charming. They weren’t the cookie cutter neighborhoods we get out here. Each house has its own unique character. It made me want to keep walking and walking. Not only that, we got some great conversation in, and that made me want to keep on walking.

Everyone knows I’m a bit of a klutz. I tripped over a huge tree limb, okay it was a good size branch that went catapulting into Annalisa’s ankle when I was done with it. Don’t worry. She could still walk, though I think it left a good sized bruise. But she forgave me, it’s just her nature. Which is good, because it is my nature to be clumsy and hurt people.

Addie started warming up to me after the appointment. She even held my hand while she was sitting in the stroller while I was walking beside it. It made my heart melt. She wasn’t shy after that. We went to the library and then passed by a donut shop. How can you walk past a donut shop? I can’t. So we went in. And we got fresh donuts. I honestly don’t know what is better than a freshly made donut.

We got home and were pretty tired. We had stayed up way too late and we had just taken a really lovely long walk. So we collapsed on the couches and Addie kept poking the BFF in the eyes. “Don’t close your eyes! Don’t go to sleep mommy!” We put on one of her shows and she snuggled up with me on the couch so The BFF could take a bit of a nap. She deserved it. Plus, I love Anastasia. Who doesn’t love that Demetrie? I know I do. Then Addie kept poking me in the eyes. “Manda. Don’t close your eyes. No sleeping.” But I was tired. And everyone knows what happens when I watch movies…

We got cleaned up and dropped Miss Addie off at a friend’s and we headed downtown. Chicago is such a cool city! I loved it!

We ate dinner at a place called Corner Bakery. Oodallaly. Delicious sandwich and great salad. I love both of those two things and I love it when they are sold together. It really makes for a perfect combo. Then we passed by Garret’s Popcorn. Oh. My. Heck. If I could marry any popcorn, I would marry that popcorn. It was amazing. I got the caramel macadamia nut. That was like eating sweet crunchy heaven. We continued walking and finally came to H&M. I absolutely am in love with H&M. I would marry that store too. Sad thing was, I wasn’t really feeling the shopping spirit. But it was so fun to look around, even if I wasn’t going to buy anything. I miss H&M. Darn Utah won’t be getting one anytime soon I don’t think.

Then we went to the Theater District and stopped on the way to get some more popcorn to take home. So many theaters! It was so fun! And I loved all the hustle and bustle of people walking around and looking around too. I might like it in a big city for a little while sometime in my life. It just seems so fabulous and different from my slower paced suburban life. And then we were there, The Cadillac Palace Theater.

I had my hands full. One with an empty water bottle and the tickets, the other with my empty popcorn bag (I was walking and eating. That’s dangerous too). Anyway, I emptied one hand and then realized I had thrown the tickets away. “Oh no! Oh no!” Then the BFF realized what happened. So typically me. Hil-arious. I started rummaging through the trash, which was hard, because when I laugh really hard, I close my eyes. Going through the garbage with your eyes closed isn’t the best idea. Gross. I finally found one of them but the other had vanished. And then some genius reached around me and threw some trash in the can. HELLO! Can’t you see I’m digging around in here?! I finally found it. It was relatively clean, as clean as it could be after being chucked in a trash can.

So we headed for the bathroom and I looked around and saw just how beautiful the theater was. It was amazing! Chandeliers and medallions on the ceiling. Lovely gold leafing and amazing plaster work all over. Red Velvet chairs. I loved it.


I washed my hands and we took our seats. I was giddy as a school girl. I love the Theatuh. Beauty and the Beast started playing. It was great! I can’t believe the talent some people have. Oh, to be able to sing. What would I give? We thoroughly enjoyed the play. The music and dancing were great, though I was rather disappointed at some of the sexuality they sneaked in there. I mean really? Beauty and The Beast sells itself. It doesn’t need the “help” of sex appeal.

The play ended and we headed back to the car. It’s a good thing the BFF isn’t directionally challenged like I am. Or we might still be looking for the car. We drove around the city and looked at some of downtown. We saw the huge fountain and Lake Michigan and some famous buildings and Millenium Park. We tried to find Oprah’s house, but we didn’t try very hard.

Since Annalisa left on her mission, we have compared ourselves to Oprah and her BFF Gayle. Annalisa is Oprah because she is fabulous and can pull of great parties and things. She has this great sense of style and what is glamorous. And I am Gayle, the awesome loyal BFF. And we do awesome things together, like drive around Chicago and go to the Theatuh. And that is why I said something about Oprah.

Then we drove home from the city and talked some more. Somehow, we never run out of things to say. That’s what is so great about the BFF. I just have so much to tell her. I’m pretty lucky that the BFF is my BFF. Not everybody is lucky enough to have that kind of relationship with someone. It gets me though a lot. She gets me through a lot. We kept talking and went to bed late again. But I think it was worth it, I didn’t want to run out of time to tell her everything I wanted, or hear everything she wanted to tell me.

Chicago 1 of 6: The Flight and First Night

My highly anticipated trip to Chicago came and went so quickly. Truly, I would have to say that is was one of the best trips on record. And I realize that is a lot of trips. It was the perfect mix of lounging around and running around. And there is just something about spending time with the BFF. She is the best. Instead of trying to cram everything we did in one measly little post, I will do one post for each day I was there. It really was just the best vacation. And I want to relive every moment. If you don’t want to relive it, I wanted to warn you. :)

I went to work on Tuesday, my flight didn't leave till 4:57, so I had to go to work. Working when you have the anticipation of something super awesome ahead of you is the pits. I was so excited. My legs were shaking I wanted to leave so badly. Finally 2:30 rolled around and I bolted out the door. I drove home and realized I hadn’t eaten lunch and I didn’t want to buy anything at the airport since it is legalized robbery to purchase anything there. So I packed myself a little lunch/dinner “snack.”

This is what was in my purse:
A baggie chock full of strawberries
A peeled orange
A baggie of pretzels
A baggie of cheese to eat with the pretzels
A baggie chock full of grapes
A peanut butter and jam sandwich
And probably some more stuff that I don’t remember

I know. That is a lot of food. It was like a stinking buffet. And my purse isn’t that big. It was overflowing. I couldn’t even zip it up. I have always wondered what women put in their huge hand bags. Now I know. They put food in there.

Craig took me to the airport. He’s a good chap. My duffel was packed pretty tightly. It must have weighed over twenty five pounds. But dang anyone who would try to make me pay $25 to check it. So I hauled it to the gate. And guess what? They didn’t make me check it. They put a lovely pink tag on it and carried it down to the belly of the metal plane for me. Nice. I had a bit of time to kill so I started reading the book that has been recommended to me time and time again. I decided to take a sabbatical from my reading sabbatical and started reading “The Hunger Games.” All of a sudden I heard someone speaking another language. It sounded very slurred. And then I heard a word I recognized. And then another. It was Polish. I stopped reading and started listening. Polish is dang hard, I decided. I could understand everything he was saying, but there was no way I would be able to carry on any sort of conversation with him. He saw that I was eavesdropping and asked me where I learned Polish. He asked me in English. So I told him, in English. It was a nice little missionary moment.

We boarded the plane. It was tiny and squishy. Luckily, I had a small little Asian person sitting next to me. He looked like he was about 12. But he was studying, like, chemical engineering stuff, so he must have been in his twenties. I cracked open my book again and I couldn’t put it down. I was so engrossed that we landed in Chicago before I knew it. And guess what else? My purse was empty. Yeah, I ate ALL of that food. I’m just glad it was mostly healthy things. I was stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. But I was reading so I wasn’t paying attention! So I learned not to read and eat. It's dangerous.

Well anyway, I waited for my pink tagged bag that really probably should have been checked. I had to walk a lot farther in this airport and my arms were getting tired. I stood by the curb and the BFF said that she would be there in a minute. I was little cold so I put on a little zip up hoodie. Then I saw her, face forward, driving right passed me. I picked up my bag, started running after her, and dialing her up. She thought I was in terminal three. I was in terminal two. She pulled over and I said I could run to catch up. I looked like a crazy person and I was running out of breath. Plus, it was getting hot. The hoodie was a bad idea. She said she was right in front of the yellow Hertz bus. I saw the back of a bus and stopped running. My legs were wobbly like jello jigglers. I love Jello. And then I saw that there were five buses all lined up. And the Hertz bus was the first in line. Needless to say, I was dripping sweat by the time I caught up to the car. And there she was laughing at us both. But I was laughing too. We drove home and we were like two hens just clucking away. We just talk so much. And then we got home and talked some more. We didn’t go to bed till 1:30. I felt bad because she has little Addie that gets up early as can be. But we just had so much to say! I hit the pillow and slept like a rock. It was a pretty good first day. And it was funny.

Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas was such a ball! We had so much fun! Our flight left at 6:35 in the a.m. which made us all tired. But we got there and my aunt's brother took us to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Delicious! It was a lot of fun to meet him and eat delicious food. We then went to the hotel, dropped off all of our stuff and hit the road. We spent quite a lot of time in the Bellagio an dhten went to the M&M store. I met my man Elvis there! Actaully, i met my man Elvis on almost every street corner. But this was the only one I wanted a picture with. He's such a hunk. Then we went to the Coca Cola store. There were these guys with a ton of different flavors of coke and I really wanted to try it. It was called "Tastes From around the World." Umm, most of it was disgusting and didn't taste like real Coke products. I am glad I live in America where our sodas don't taste like crap.

In front of Serendipity's

We ate at the buffet at Treasure Island. It was oodalally delicious. On the weekends tehy have prime rib, shrimp, and crab. The only crab I remember ever having was canned or something like that, which sounds absolutely disgusting right now. Anyway, I just had to try it. It's such a pain to shell. But so good.
They have a wax museum at theVenetian. So I stopped to get a picture with the Rock. He is so dreamy.. He looks so much smaller in real life... But I was still intimidated as you can see I couldn't get too close to him.

Then we got pictures in front of the Phantom ad. We were just so excited!! And this picture is great because my mom has her eyes open. Sometimes, I think Rachel and Emma get that trait from her...

Then came Phantom. It was phenomenal! I was so amazed the entire time. It was definitely worth going down to see.

After the show, we actually saw Elder Holland! He was just so nice. My aunt Mel saw him and told me to get his attention. So I grabbed his arm and said hello. He turned and said "What is this? The Relief Society?" And then went on about how fantastic the show was as he shook all of our hands. It was a great way to end the show!

We all wanted to see the fountains at the Bellagio afterwards, but Grammy and preggo Alana were just too beat so they went back to the hotel. So mom, Mel, Taylor and I went out and saw them. So gorgeous!

My battery was dying thw whole trip so she has all the pictures with all of us in them. It was a fantastic trip and we had a ball! I can't wait to do something like this again soon!

Travel

I am getting the travel bug. I LOVE to travel. Sometimes I think to myself, "I haven't really been anywhere." And then I stop again and realize that I have been lots of places. I have been pretty lucky. Anyway, one of my friends just invited me to go to Germany and Poland. Wroclaw Rynek
I want to go so badly! I need to go back. I love this place. But, with Beyonce's repairs, practically zero tax return (thanks for nothin!!), and my car insurance premium due, I just won't be able to go. For a split second, I thought about selling my beloved. But then I thought, "How dare you even consider it! You love her!" Bah! So that is not even an option. I would feel like Benedict Arnold. Oh and I also bought this.
Not the guy on it, he's my cousin. And besides, you can't buy people. The four wheeler! My sister asked me why I did that, and I just told her "Because I wanted it." And I did. I really wanted it. So with all those things, I have drained my excess cash.

So, I have planned a few smaller trips that will keep my travel appetite under control. I can't even wait. I am going to Vegas tomorrow to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. I hear it is fantastic!! We got round trip airfare for $50, and flying makes travel so much easier. So we bought them, booked a hotel, and got some Phantom tickets. Did I mention I can't wait?!

Then, a few days ago, I consorted with the BFF and I am headed out to Chicago at the end of March. Can. Not. Wait. "[Chicago] is so diverting!" Tons of stuff to do, but mostly, I am super excited to hang with the BFF, her little doll, and her hub. Oh, and we are going to see Beauty and the Beast. I just love going to the theatuh! And that is one of my favorite Disney movies, so it's a win-win all around! And since Chicago has the second largest Polish speaking population (second only to Warsaw), maybe I will be able to score me some Polish goodies. We'll see :) That will have to satiate my Poland hunger for now.

Disneyworld

I just got back, well on Sunday I got back, from a whole week in Orlando. It was a blast. But I do have to say, that a whole week without my family is rough indeed. People in my past have told me that they don't really know what is really important to me. I guess I should just make it easy for them right here, right now: my family is number one. The whole week I kept thinking, "Oh this would be so much fun if the little girls were here to see it!" Or, "Oh my, Alana would die that's so funny!" Or, "My dad would just love this!" Or, "Mason would LOVE this roller coaster!" Anyway, I learned a lot about myself. I'm a big baby. And I get homesick.

I was however in the happiest place on earth... so naturally I had a really good time. I am really good at keeping myself entertained, especially when I am surrounded by tons of entertainment. I went to Disneyland my junior year of high school. I was a little underwhelmed. I wanted rollercoasters. I couldn't really understand what all the hype was over all that stuff. Well, this time, I totally got it. I love Disneyworld. I am sure I would love Disneyland. I felt like a little kid again. It made me want to come home and watch every Disney movie ever made. It really was magical!

I can't believe how much detail is in every little thing. They had a Swiss Family Robinson tree with the bamboo water chutes and everything. When you had to wait in line for a ride, it was in the theme of the ride. So, I was in a dungeon waiting for Pirates of the Carribbean and a creepy hotel for the tower of terror. The electric parade made my entire trip worth it, and Fantasmic was absolutely incredible. They had shows going all the time and things for old and young and young at heart, which, coincidentally, I am all three.

I ran into my friend's parents while at Animal kingdom (which was my favorite). Talk about a small world. (I liked that ride too - It's a Small World). The roller coasters were great and we went on a real safari. A safari! I can definitely see why people get all excited about Disneyland. One day, when I have kids, we're going.

Park City

Lately, I have been itching to do stuff. Like, real stuff. My family does plenty of plain old stuff, but never do we do out of the house kind of stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love family dinners and get togethers at the house, but we don't seem to make as many memories as we would if we blew this town or went somewhere. I think Shawna lit this fire when she suggested we take a family vacation to somewhere other than Hurricane. Ever since, I have been a planning maniac. You should see the lists I make. Pretty impressive. Anyway, I decided that my mom's part of the family needed to get out of the house. We first were planning on going to Saint George and seeing a play at Tuachan but then decided that Park City was a better idea. Closer at least. Well, I don't think we could have picked a better weekend to go. The leaves are absolutely amazing. Like knock your socks off amazing. We played plenty of games, watched (slept through...old lady I know) a few movies, and took a look at the mansions my company builds. All in all, we definitely made some memories.A view overlooking Jordanelle and Deer Valley. This is what happens when I try to take pictures in a moving vehicle. It happened like six times. So I gave up and only started taking shots when we were stopped. I don't love blurry trees so much, I guess.

Spencer made dinner on Friday night. I never knew I would love Jimmy John's so much. They have delectable bread. We had French dips. He brought back my childhood.

Alana and Steve made breakfast on Saturday morning. They love to make breakfast. All I can say is that I love turkey bacon. My heck.
And just for the record, I was going to make dinner on Saturday night but everyone was too full from the sandwiches my mom insisted on making. I made the clam chowder yesterday and much to my surprise, it worked out and was delicious!!
Here is to family outings.