The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I saw this movie several weeks ago with Megan and Mark, but I am still thinking about it. That's how good it was. 

I don't know if anyone else is getting tired of superhero movies being remade and sequels to sequels to sequels being announced. I was starting to wonder if anyone would ever make a movie that would make me think about life, or feel something new. This movie did it. It managed to portray the real raw emotion that is being human. I loved it. 

Halloween!

On Tuesday night I carved pumpkins with my roommates, Megan, and Mark. It turns out we have some pretty great carving talent between the 6 of us. 

Megan carved a robot.

Mark carved an adorable, yet sinister face. 

Kristin carved Pikachu.

I helped Walter carve a self portrait.

Adrienne and Megan carved a classic face together.

Walter with his finished product. Quite a likeness eh?

Oh, and I have to mention that while we carved we had the perfect halloween movie playing in the background: Twilight. So scary. 

Totem pole photo.

Walter just loved his pumpkin.

The finished products. Mark, Jessie, Kristin, Adrienne/Megan S., Megan L.:

On actual Halloween night I dressed as Finn from Adventure Time. Coincidentally, Matt was also Finn.

Mark was a gorilla, so I tested my wingspan against his. Turns out my arms are almost as long as a gorilla's. 

We celebrated at a Halloween dance and then ate tons of pizza at Brick Oven, so it was a pretty successful night.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Half Marathon

Mark and I signed up for the Halloween half marathon months ago, so I started working on my costume over the summer while I was home. I needed something I could easily run in, so I decided to be a peacock. Emily wanted to be one too, so we made twin tutus. 

We sewed peacock feathers out of felt and then made tutus ourselves. It was surprisingly easy.

Here is my finished tutu:

Twins!

The morning of the race we had to get up way early and wait forever in this tent with all the runners. I ran into Anna, who was dressed as an oompa loompa, obviously.

Here I am about to cross the finish:

So happy because we finished the race.

My full costume:

Megan came to cheer me on and we couldn't help but notice that our own grandpa's namesake school supported the race by providing a bus. 

San Diego

I took a quick road trip to San Diego over the weekend to visit some people from my mission. Obviously I stopped at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site for a quick visit. It still looks the same.

I got to attend the sealing for a family that I had worked with during my mission. It was an incredible experience and the temple was beautiful as always.

Here are some of the other sisters I had served with who were at the temple too, along with Hugo, who is about to leave on his mission.

We made a quick stop at the beach, even though it was freezing cold. Talk about a nice view!

Saturday night I spent most of the evening with two of my favorite young women from a ward I served in, Kelsey and Lupita. 

We ate takis, but obviously I ate the least of all of us because they were so hot.

On Sunday morning we attended Hugo's mission farewell. He did an incredible job. It was the best talk I have ever heard. 

The trip was perfect, except for having to spend 20 hours in the car. So worth it though.

Descartes is From Paris

I don't know if you remember this little project I was working on:

Well, Rene Descartes does not disappoint when he says he is going to break into the music industry. Here is a little sample of what he has been up to:

Monkeying Around

In an attempt to expand my cultural views, I have been hanging around with a gorilla occasionally. I think the photographs mostly speak for themselves:

Mostly what I've learned is that gorillas, like girls, just want to have fun. Oh, and they like to scare people.

I love Fall

Fall is my absolute most favorite time of the year. I love everything about it, especially that I can finally wear pants, sweaters and tights after the long hot summer. Most of all though, I love that the leaves change colors.

Hogwarts at BYU

The Pendulum Court at BYU had a Harry Potter themed meal, so obviously Megan, Alissa, Mark, and I went for lunch. Naturally, I wore my HP shirt to celebrate. As you can see, even Hagrid was in attendance. 

They definitely exceeded our expectations with the decorations. We felt like we were really eating in the Great Hall. Floating candles and everything!

Mark tried on the sorting hat and pleaded that he not be put in slytherin. Thus, we sat in the gryffindor section.

Just a broomstick I found.

I had the Ron Weasley wrap, a pumpkin pastie, and butter beer. Everything was delicious, except the butter beer. I am going to have to try my own hand at making it, but will not use chunks of butter floating in cream soda. Clearly someone had not read the books as it is supposed to be a warm beverage served in bottles.

Alissa and Megan:

Mark and I:

Long live HP!

Conference Weekend!

Saturday morning we drove up to Salt Lake City to see conference. It was a pretty amazing session. I loved it. 

Me, Mark, and Matt at the conference center:

Mark and I:

We ran into Cambrie at the conference center, which was the best surprise ever!

After the first session, I met up with some converts from the branch I served at in San Diego. We took them to see the Christus statue, which they loved.

M.J. got me a ticket to the second session, so I went with her and a couple of girls from my mission.

On Sunday I just watched the sessions in my apartment, but got together with the visitors from San Diego and some other sisters that served there too.