Howdy

Hey guys. Uh, let's see. What has been going on in my life that you want to read about??

Well, this week at BYU is Safety Week, so our apartment complex had a couple activities about that. On tuesday I went to a crime prevention seminar where a BYU cop talked to the girls about how to avoid victimizing ourselves. He was a really funny guy. I liked what he had to say. Then on Wednesday, just our building had a lady from RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) come talk to us. She had some awesome things to say, too. But, after both of those I felt kind of suspicious of everything and everyone. lol We also had a building fire alarm, and boy, is that thing LOUD. I wanted to be out of there just for the sound alone!

Thursday was Sara's birthday. I sent her a package with Believing Christ, some neat bookmarks, a BYU magnet, and a keychain that said her name. I think she liked it, and I'm glad it got there on her birthday. I thought it would take at least one more day. So, she's officially 16, which is like the historically best birthday ever! She doesn't have her license, yet, so everyone can relax for a while. And she gets to date, but beware, I have to approve all boys before they ask her out. :) Haha, jk.

On Friday night I went to visit the Vanfleets, who I stayed with for Education Week, for dinner. I felt bad, because I was also planning on going to a concert pretty soon afterward, so they had to hurry and put dinner together then take me to campus. But I had a great time, and LOOOVED dinner: homemade pizza and fresh fruit and veggies. Just what a college kid needs every once in a while.

I was meeting up with Neil, my FHE parental counterpart to go the concert together. I'd emailed the whole family asking if anyone wanted to go with me, and he called at the last minute saying he had a ticket already and would go with me. Problem was I didn't have a ticket, and we didn't realize until we got there that it was assigned seating. So he was in and I was trying to get a ticket, but they were sold out, so I bought a ticket to Pericles instead, which got out about the same time as the choral concert. So, we met up afterwards and I asked him to ride bikes home with me since it was dark out and stuff. Then he invited me to come watch a movie with him and some friends later. It didn't end up happening until late, but it was pretty fun. We watched Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn, and I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I vocally screamed (along with, at least, all the girls in the apartment) at one point, which I rarely do. lol. I think they are going to do "Frightening Fridays" or something and watch Hitchcocks and stuff like that. Ohhhh! I am never going to be able to sleep again. :) I've never really done scary movies before.

I went to work this morning and it was one of those off-days for me. I didn't feel very good. But that was over, and I took the bus to Walmart to do grocery shopping. The whole endeavor took a few hours. I watched the Relief Society broadcast on my laptop when I got home. Today was my roommate's 19th birthday. Her name is Clarissa, and she's been out all day doing stuff like taking a chem exam, hanging out with her friend David, and she's been at her sisters' the whole afternoon. Steff and her friend went to the temple this morning and then went to Salt Lake because they had tickets for the broadcast at the Conference Center. I really need to read my Christian history texts, and get ready for tomorrow.

Miss you all. Feel free to write!!! ;)

Ward FHE

Hey everyone. Today was a really great day. Ok, except for the fact that I slept through American Heritage once again. But this time I went to a later lecture so I wouldn't miss out on anything.

Tonight we had a ward FHE activity. They had a catered dinner for us that was delicious. I didn't eat much, but what I did was good. Then we played some frisbee for a while, until the mini-program started. Ethan, the FHE grandpa, played guitar and sung "Come, Come Ye Saints" and we joined in as we felt inspired. Haha. It was very nice. He sang a solo in choir yesterday and it made me cry. I didn't cry tonight, but I loved it. Then a girl shared a spiritual thought and we had a prayer. After that some people left, but a lot stayed and there were games of ultimate frisbee, soccer, and volleyball going on. I played volleyball. But it is getting a little too cold for my tastes. 70 degrees is like, "Everybody put your winter coats on" in Florida. Brrrrr. Our team pretty much rocked it. IT was a funny game.

Here are some picts of the family from tonight. I think they turned out really good. I love our family.

John, Andy, Jeff, Neil, Steff, Alexa, and Clarissa

Same as above :)

Daddy and the boys (John, Andy, Jeff, and Dad (Neil))

These are my problem children!

We are family-- sing it with me now! lol

"My hand was in the way! Ha"

Wipe your mouth, dear

Dad and his peach

Clarissa thought something was really funny (roommate)

Steff (roommate) taking pics

I look so... something.....

Clarissa was really enjoying this meal

Classic John

Classic Andy

And Jeff on his 3rd plate.. I'm not actually sure how many he did get down

Miss you all! Love ya lots <3>

Married

Forget engaged-- I'm married!

Haha, ok. Now that I got your attention... I finally have an FHE hubby. His name is Neil, and he's so sweet. He's a cowboy, a fresh country boy. Not to mention adorable. I was over at his apartment today for a few hours talking FHE logistics and getting to know him. I feel like I don't even know the guy! :) He lived in St. Cloud for a while on the church ranch, I think when he was really little, but he's most recently from Manti, UT. He is just 12 days older than me, and we were born a couple cities away. It was meant to be! lol

While I was over, John, his roommate, took pictures of him/us. I helped Neil make a facebook so he could join our FHE group on it, and he needed some pictures to put up. And I needed pictures to show you all my hubby! Win-win situation.

So, without further ado, I present, Neil: (he was trying to make some dorky pictures so that people would be shocked to see my husband)

Voila! Now you know.

FHE Update

This past Sunday I got called as the FHE Group Leader for my group, or, as we call it, the "Mom." The dad still hasn't been called yet, so we don't know exactly what's going on with it. I guess I'm just a single mom for now, which is pretty hard when you have 15 teenagers all at once, and you're a teenager yourself. Haha!

Clarrissa, Steff, and I (roommates) have been bonding with out brothers from FHE, John, Andy, and Neil. They're such great guys. We love to spend time with them. We had them over for dinner on Sunday night, then we watched "The Best Two Years" at their apartment afterward.

Monday night we held FHE at our apartment again, and did a few business things, and people were saying they wanted to go home, so we said a closing prayer, then anyone who wanted to stay could play a game. Those 3 guys were the only ones who stayed. We played some serious UNO that night. Then Andy said we should play Cranium, so we decided to do it Wednesday night because it was getting late.

Wednesday rolled around and only Clarissa and I went over to play Cranium (Steff was watching a movie for class). It was just John and Andy home, then they invited our other FHE brother, Jeff, over and Neil came back from piano practice soon. We played 3-on-3, Clarissa and I on John's team vs. the rest of them. It was totally fun. We laughed so hard that night, I left feeling a little sick (which might have had something to do with eating snickers and gummy worms, too -lol). Our team won, of course. 'Cause we had the girls. Haha

So, that's what's going on with my "family" here. Love you all! <3 <3 <3

Accessibility Awareness Week '08

BYUSA, a campus group, was holding Accessibility Awareness Week the past few days. Students can "adopt" a disability for a couple hours and complete some tasks with it, then watch a 20-minute video on disability, then get a free t-shirt that says "I Took the Challenge." I decided to do it (partially because I needed something to write about for my Opinion Editorial) and so I went and adpoted this morning.

I chose hearing and speech impairment, which besically meant I was deaf and mute. I was supposed to do it for 2 hours, but I ended up doing it for 4. It was really funny. And very peaceful with the ear plugs in. I could still hear, but everything was muffled. Here's what I looked like (and I made this facial expression all day, too! haha):

Here's the card they gave me when I completed the challenge

Here's a note I used to get help

And how I told my teachers what was going on

I had a few things I had to do:

1. Attend a class; get notes from a friend

2. Have a conversation with someone

3. Ask for directions to one of your classes

4. Watch 10 minutes of TV

All of them were fun to do. I especially liked how cashiers at the Cougareat and in the Bookstore would respond when they realized I was "deaf." They would start to us motions and talk less. It was interesting. And I think I noticed that my teachers were writing on the board more than usual. It was nice that they were catching on to the point, which was to realize the accomodations that disabled students need.

Some of the other disabilities were: partial blindness, tunnel vision, wheelchair, crutches, hand impairment, hearing impairment, speech imparment (each indiviually), and a few more I don't remember. I think wheelchair was the most popular, because they advertised the challege of going all the way to the RB from the Wilk. I wasn't going to try. :) Haha

And the crowning glory of the day, my t-shirt!