Happy Birthday Baby!

7 years ago today my favorite baby girl was born. What a cutie.

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

There are Ewoks among us

This creature is called a pygmy tarsier. Apparently it was believed to be extinct for the past 80 years, but was recently rediscovered in Indonesia.

...or was it...

What doesn't quite fit with this story is how Luke Skywalker came across a whole community of them in 1983 during Return of the Jedi. Did George Lucas perhaps visit Indonesia and keep his rediscovery of the pygmy tarsier a secret so that he could use them in his movie and claim they were not from this world? Just something to ponder.

Movies

Tonight i had the wonderful joy of watching back to back movies for my film and Spanish classes. Within ten minutes I ran from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" to "Diarios de Motocicleta."













Talk about a contrast! The first is a musical featuring Marylin Monroe and a series of mishaps as she seeks a rich husband. The second is a depiction (based on the journal he kept) of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's travels through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela that led him to become the Marxist Revolutionary we know him as today. I would highly recommend both movies, though maybe at separate times.

Halloween: final take

For the ultimate halloween experience, one had to merely drop by Applewood apartment #7, the residence of Kristin and Kelsey aka Watson and Holmes.

They had set up a "bar" in their kitchen with "margaritas," pumpkin cocktails (made from a recipe designed by Kristin), and what was affectionately called the hard stuff, but more commonly known as dr. pepper or mountain dew.

There was pretty much everything you might need for a rocking good time: strobe light, dancing, and a bog machine (a bubble machine that fills each bubble with fog so when it pops the fog is released). Sara and I modeling the fog:

The old and new roomies all coming together. So presh.

Halloween: take 2

On Halloween we hit up our ward party in Provo Canyon. Maggie, Meryl and I tried and failed at the donut eating contest.

Alex pretty much wins for best costume in my book...possibly because he made the wig himself.

The nerd and the Extra Terrestrial were certainly having some good times together. Who would have thought that an outer space creature and an electrical engineer would find common ground?

The lovely roommates: a nerd, Wendy, Mizz Peacock, the Hawaiian, and E.T.'s girlfriend (or something along those lines...it's slightly open to interpretation).

Halloween: take 1

For FHE our "family" had a delightful Halloween extravaganza that included everything from werewolves to caramel apples.

We had some pretty sweet costumes amongst our apartment: a mermaid, elmo, WWII girl, nerd, hawaiian, and batman.

A Fairy Tale Ending

The amazing Terry family had us lovely college children over for dinner on Sunday. What a good looking bunch eh?

Danae and I had a lovely time playing in some of Amy's old dresses.

Oh, and Maggie's getting married...

JUST KIDDING! Though she makes a lovely bride.

¡Voy a España!

Spain: A country of southwest Europe comprising most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic and Canary Islands. Inhabited since the Stone Age, the region was colonized by Phoenicians and Greeks and later ruled by Carthage and Rome (after 201 B.C.). Barbarians first invaded Spain in A.D. 409 but were supplanted by Moors from North Africa (711-719), who organized a kingdom known for its learning and splendor. The Moors were gradually displaced by small Christian states and were ousted from their last stronghold, Granada, in 1492. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile then became rulers of a united Spain, which became a world power through exploration and conquest. After the empire was lost in the 18th and 19th centuries, Spain experienced social and economic unrest that culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the rise of Francisco Franco. After Franco's death in 1975 the monarchy was restored under King Juan Carlos, who oversaw the creation of a parliamentary democracy. Madrid is the capital and the largest city. Population: 40,400,000.

Because Spain is one of the few countries that Mary-Kate and Ashley have NOT filmed a movie in, I am unable to live vicariously through them. Thus, I have decided to take it upon myself to spend my next semester living and studying in Spain. If all goes according to plan, those 4 months or so should follow the plot of an MK and A movie very closely. (meaning: I will see tons of sights, have a few mishaps, do fun activities while music plays in the background, and of course fall in love with an attractive Spaniard boy, who may or may not speak English)

A Day of Temple Gardening and Fake Engagements

For a service project some people from my ward trekked over to temple square to help plant bulbs (or so we were told).

Upon arriving we were assigned to demolition duty, which turned out to be possibly more fun than the planting. We pulled out all of the old flowers and turned the soil so that it would be ready for new plants.

As we turned the soil, we found many little critters...such as my friend Renoldo pictured below.

Don't worry, I didn't actually eat him. I doubt it's appropriate to eat other living creatures so close to the Temple.

After the delightful gardening, Heather, Rachelle, and I headed over to a bridal fair in Provo. Naturally we all wore fake diamond rings and pretended to be engaged. It was a rather humorous experience to say the least. Rachelle now has a website dedicated to her "wedding" with her "fiance" and I am entered to win a free honeymoon.

We sampled several delicious cakes and cupcakes and received many pamphlets on decorations and jewelry and photography so we are all pretty much set to jet (minus the fiances). We also made a neat discovery that apparently photo booths are all the rage at receptions these days (and I must say that I am a fan). We did a practice run in case any of us decide to have one at our wedding.

I think they turned out rather well, considering we were all fake brides.

Homecoming and Banana Pancakes

Homecoming weekend involved many festivities celebrating the wonderfulness of BYU. Friday night I attended the homecoming spectacular, which gave a small taste of the many forms of singing and dancing that occur on BYU's campus. It was lovely. The highlight of the weekend had to be the following morning. Having an overload of ripe bananas, Maren and I decided to make banana pancakes. These weren't just any banana pancakes though, they were Mickey Mouse banana pancakes! Who could ask for anything more?

The evening finished with another victory for the BYU cougar football team (21-3). The game was freezing cold and I experienced the first of many snow flurries to come as I walked home from the stadium.