My Wonderful Mom

Mom was talking to me and saying how she doesn't like how I'm making it sound like she's a bad Mom. I would like to clarify that and say that Mom isn't bad, she is a very extremely, superbly, wonderfully, awesome Mom! And just to prove it, I'm going to devote this post to why I love her so much and she's the best Mom I could've ever hoped for.

Mom...

• carved pumpkins with us in her kitchen today
• is making caramel apples with us right now
• taught me how to do my hair
• Bought me clothes, make-up, toys, diapers (not now, but when I was younger), beauty products, jewelry, useless crap, candy, food, tickets to things, furniture, pets, music, electronic things, and much much more
• Took me to every single gymnastic meet that I had and cheered me on
• home-schooled me in fifth grade
• signed me up for gymnastics and took me to practice and private lessons every day and paid for it
• took me to dance and other activities that I've done
• helps me with school
• cooks me dinner
• didn't abort or abuse me
• makes every birthday special
• makes every holiday special
• makes every meal special (haha)
  
• takes me to fun places
• plays games with me
• helps me with problems
• made all of my bedrooms I've had cute
• buys things I need
• is a wonderful cook
• doesn't try hard to be cool
• dresses nice
• doesn't usually embarrass me
• isn't a mom who doesn't care about her children
• isn't a super strict and annoying mom
  
• has allowed me to have many pets (which is more than a lot of moms can say)
• cleans the house
• works to earn money
• makes the house pretty
• takes me shopping
• supports me with the BNY Youth Choir
• loves me
• loves my pets
• loves my sisters and Dad and other people in family
• wants what's best for me and my sisters

I think that sums up a lot of it, but there's much more that I haven't mentioned. Now everyone knows what a wonderful Mom Wendy Ellen Stevens Black is!

Super-Duper Weekend

I did more things than usual last weekend, which isn't bad. It was actually pretty fun but it did take up a lot of time and effort.

On Thursday, even though that wasn't the weekend, I went to Jekyll and Hyde at Rodgers Memorial Theatre with Dad. It was a really cool play and now I want to get season passes to go there. I almost tried out for a play there, but it would take a lot of time and I didn't want to do that until my voice is better so I can get a decent part.

On Saturday, I woke up at 6:50ish and got ready and then my mom drove me to the Motion Pictures Studio on Provo. I got there at 9AM and there were about 400 other kids in my Brand New Year choir group there too. We talked for a while and then all of us went into another part of the room where they had set up a bunch of microphones and lights. We all stood under those lights for almost two hours singing. Oh, did I mention that we were recording our songs on a CD? Yeah, so it was really annoying because we had to sing the same song over and over again until we got it right and all of us were aching. They gave us a fifteen minute break and we all got a water bottle, a cookie (or few...), and fruit. I went outside to eat and there were about 15 kids on the teeter-totter and when some of them would get off at the same time, then a lot of the kids would go flying. After that, we recorded for a couple more hours and we went almost an hour overtime. During the recording, this lady came to the front with a big trash can and told everyone to put their water bottles in there. So everyone started chucking theirs and it turned into a game to see who could get their's in. It was super funny to watch, and some of them had really poor aim and would hit the lady or other people, but it was all good fun. The only part that I actually liked about it was that there was this cute boy who was next to me and he told me that I'm a good singer. I love it when boys give me compliments! It's so sweet and it boosts my self-confidence.

After it was over, Mom took me to the mall to get me my costume for the BNY Choir. The Provo mall had super cute stuff, I was drooling. We got my outfit for a surprisingly good price. Mom said that next time we go clothes shopping. Mom was especially ecstatic at the scrap booking store. (Holy cow, Charlie keeps on sneezing. It's super gross at night when I'm about to go to bed, she sneezes right on my arm EVERY NIGHT so I get cat spit on me. I think it's her bedtime ritual.) We had fun wandering around. Mom said she wanted to leave by 3 PM since there was a BYU football game and she didn't want to get stuck in traffic. We left a little before 5 PM and there was some beautiful traffic.

The next day I had to give a talk in church. Dun dun dun. It was on modesty and I had spent the night before writing it and I was pretty proud of myself. The second of first or whatever counselor in the stake presidency (stakeopric?) was there so there was double pressure. Ryan Davis was up there too because he was going to be announced being made a teacher (holy cow, I just sneezed like ten times, no exaggeration) or whatever you call it. We were trying to sing the some (pg. 68) and both of us had never heard it before so we were laughing while trying to sing it. Good thing it was one verse. I got up there and talked for a while. My voice was shaking even though I didn't feel scared. What are they going to do? Throw hymn books or BOM's at me? I don't usually mind talking in front of people, it's just waiting to do it that scares me. While the others were giving their talks, I couldn't stop swallowing and I hoped no one noticed. Also, a fly flew straight at my face and I jerked back really fast and tried to swat it in front of everyone. That wasn't embarrassing at all. I was a bit sad because only Dad came to hear me talk. Mom and my sisters were, as always, late. At least they heard the last few words when they came in.

That night, I went to the conference center for my BNY Choir practice. I got a backstage pass (I feel so cool!) and I went into this small room at first. We then went into the actual place and there were tons of seats. It was huge! I've never been there before so I was amazed. The band and orchestra was there and we practiced singing and playing together. A boy from my school name Shea Smith was in the band. I don't like where I sit because I feel tall and stupid being there, but apparently I didn't to them. I was hoping they'd move me. We practiced going down these weird steps that we will be running down in the performance and it was pretty cool. I now have an additional practice that they surprised us with this Thursday and I have no way of getting there. Dad will be at work and Mom will be at school and my friend isn't going. I guess it won't kill me to miss, but I wish I could go. On the way back, we went by this pretty bad car accident. I didn't know what happened, but the car was pretty beat up.

Wow! I hope every weekend is like this.....

P.S.-I did the impossible! I wrote a story thing, and my teacher actually told me that I need to make it longer! Usually, they ask for a two page story and I write around 16 pages with no double spaces. No exaggeration there, either.

P.P.S.- I finally downloaded Pharoah onto our computer again! I know that the Conrads will think that that's old, but I love that game! It also teaches me quite a few things about Egyptians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNpUgfL6q30&feature=related

Ford Sportka Commercial

Wow, I found this on youtube, and you people have to see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97B0MJb7KU8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-sC-vSIXk

Isn't that horrible?!

It's Been Fun

Sorry that it's been over a week since I last posted, I have been a bit preoccupied. I was waiting until Saturday or Sunday to post so I could talk about my birthday and that didn't really work.

On Friday I went to Lagoon with Taylor, Sariah, and Ethan. We went on some rides and I forced Ethan to go on Wicked even though we stayed in line for a while. It was only about 1-2 minutes, but I was just happy he went on. A while later we got in line for Frightmares. I don't know which one we went in, but it wasn't the High School one. This guy kept on coming behind me and scaring me while I was in line. After the fifth time, I got mad so I flicked my rubber band at his face. He got mad at me and now that I think about it, I could've gotten kicked out of there. At least he stopped that, it was funny the first few times but the next ones really made me mad. He was just doing his job and he was good at it. After that I kept on spinning in circles so no one could sneak up on me. We got in there and they had us put on 3-D glasses that also made things a bit blurry. People would dress up as the background so you couldn't tell they were there. It was fun and the jokers kept on trying to kill me, but Nightmare on 13th is way better. It's scarier and longer.

The next day was my birfday. Sue, the Miamaid leader, brought me my birfday in a bag present early in the morning. It's a brown sack with a ding-dong, candle, and a match. I guess that if my parents didn't like me and didn't celebrate my birthday, I could light my candle on my ding-dong and sing to myself... Haha, that'd be sad. I went back to bed after that. I was a good girl when I got up and I did my chores and some of Ashley's too. Mom called and asked if I wanted Amanda to come with to get Charlie, and I said "like, totally!". Grandma and Grandpa then called to wish me happy birthday and I talked to them a while. Bonnie sent me a super cool E-card wishing me happy birthday where some farm animals were having a birthday hoe-down! I loved it! Thanks Bonnie! Amanda and Mom came and Amanda gave me a present which was a super-duper cute orange bracelet and matching big hoop earrings. I also got Reeses Pieces and Rolos and a cute card.

Mom, Dad, Emma, Amanda, and I went to the Humane Society of Utah to get Charlie (Charlie is the kitten I've been planning on getting for my birthday for a couple months and that's what I've been counting down to, not my birfday, but getting Charlie. Now you know the mystery!). We looked at some cats. One I picked up was in there since she was one month old so she was freaking out a little. Mom had another one which she was holding who was cute but she didn't like to be snuggled and when I held her she freaked out. I went with Dad to look at dogs for fun. They had a super cute golden retriever for like fifty bucks. I wish we could've gotten him, he was sweet. Anyway, I went into the room where they had a lot of the cats in cages. I looked at some but none of them really popped out and I was starting to feel sad. I held one named Snowflake, but he was a boy. He was still sweet and cuddly, but I wanted a girl and I wanted her to be smaller. I figured I'd just get him because he's the best one there and he had super pale eyes, they were almost white. The worker there then pointed out these two pure-bred sister cats who were five months old. Dad picked one up and put her in my arms. She had beautiful blue eyes and looked like Misty and she was just laying in my arms. That's Misty with some of her babies down there. I looked at her and knew she was the one. Mom went out and bought her while I stood there holding her, who I then renamed Charlie. After, we went to Petsmart where we got her a collar and tag, toys, and a bed. She was freaking out for some reason and scratched Mom a lot. We went out the the car and drove to Wal-mart where we got a bunch of candy, popcorn, soda, and the Simpsons Movie. The employees there were confused because they heard her meowing and couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from. I stacked all of the candy on her box and started saying "come to candy mountain, Charley!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPONTneuaF4 We got Panda Express, which I've been craving for a long time, and went home.

We had Panda Express and cake and I had fun with Charlie. We got out treats and watched the Simpsons movie which was hilarious. Emma likes to watch it over and over now.

I am so happy with Charlie. I wanted a baby kitty (five months... still a baby) and I wanted her to be white and perfect which meant cuddly, nice, cute, playful, and not annoying. She loves to be held and while I'm on the computer, she will just curl up on you lap and sit there (like she is now). She loves attention and likes to play. She also can get comfortable anywhere in the house, no matter where she is. Last night I was getting ready for bed so she jumped up on my bed and got on her hind legs and stretched up toward me which was so adorable. She is my perfect Charlie, like coming from my imagination.
On Sunday in Beehives we had brownies for my birthday and then I went to my Mia maids class. I've been a Beehive since less than a month after I moved here, so it was a bit sad leaving, but I was so ready to move on.

On Monday I was super tired and I kept on falling asleep over and over during first and second period so I didn't really get much from the lessons, and I hope the teachers didn't notice because I didn't want to seem rude.

On Tuesday, I missed the bus because I woke up late from being so tired. I haven't missed the bus all school year. The same thing happened during first and second period, but I put up a better fight. I went a bit cross eyed trying to keep my eyes open sometimes, but I didn't doze off as much. Right when I got home from school, I started working on my PowerPoint for science and didn't finish until 10 PM. It's very cool, but it took forever. I quickly did my history and went to bed earlier than the night before.

This morning, I felt more awake and while I was getting dressed, I heard a voice inside my head saying "Eat an apple, Celeste" so I did before doing my hair (I had to chomp on that super fast so I would have time to still do my hair and make-up). I don't get why I ate that, it didn't keep me more awake, though I wasn't as hungry as usual. Well, I guess "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!" is a good reason. During science, I showed my powerpoint to the class. It bugged me seeing all of the different ones because these people would just put in a picture, boring background, and basic font. They didn't have any animation and it just bugged me. You at least need to learn the basics for powerpoints. Mine was cool. It went by itself and had Bring Me Back to Life by Evanescence with cool animation, font, and background. Some people went up to me and told me mine was really good. Thanks, I worked long enough for a six minute presentaion. I didn't fall asleep as much, but I had my moments. During seventh period though, I couldn't help it. I was so tired and she was talking about commas. I gave in and put my head down. I don't know how long I was out until she said loudly (or it seemed) "Okay, I'll stop talking since some of you are going to sleep." I jerked awake and she was telling us to do our assignment and then said "You, you, you, and you were having trouble staying awake" and she pointed to me and other people, but she wasn't mad, she seemed a bit amused.

For mutual tonight, I went with the Mia maids to Shauna's house and we made pumpkin cookies. It was cool being with them and being the youngest instead of the oldest. I was going to try out for "The Wizard of Oz" but it's Monday-Friday 7-10 PM until February and that's too much for me so I guess I'll do a different one later.

So that's my exciting life. It's been fun.

Pictures Are Driving Me Crazy

Okay, I can't put all of the pictures on it's driving me crazy. So if you want to see them then come over to my house and I will happily show you otherwise, that's unfortunate for you (Dad said that at his new job, they aren't aloud to say sucks so instead they say unfortunate). Happy Tuesday.

Los Angeles

5 more days.....

Fun Fact of the Day: Did you know that I was supposed to be born on October 13, but I arrived five days late??? =O

Thursday (10/9):
In school, I did the impossible. I asked this girl that I've been wanting to be friends with for a while and who's doing the Youth Choir thing with me if I could sit next to her at lunch. She didn't say no, as Mom and Dad promised me. She sits with two guys (one is named Jordan the guy Mckenzy G. used to like, I think) and Miriam Blaser. It was pretty nice having a place to sit with people I actually want to be around. I forgot to tell all of my teachers that I was going on vacation, but I intentionally forgot to mention that to Mrs. Lee for certain reasons. I remember I was sitting in her stupid class just thinking over and over it's okay, you'll be in L.A. in less than 24 hours...

When I got back from school, we spent an hour and a half going crazy trying to get ready to drive off and Mackenzie (cousin, not Mckenzy) arrived in that time. I decided to pick up my room because I knew I would probably be mad at myself when I got home if I didn't. After many more painful minutes we were off.

We drove peacefully for a couple hours while I texted my friends until we decided we wanted to watch a movie. We pulled out......"The Orphanage!!" No one think I'm a bad little girl, but it was rated R, and my parents aren't bad either. It was rated in Italy (I think) which means that a rated R is a rated PG-13 to us. And it was all in Spanish so we had to read the subtitles. It was very cool and the main scary thing was just suspense and that's why I think it was rated R for them. Mom and Dad watched it a while back and said that it wasn't bad. It was all good, and it was a very provocative show (I learned that word in English today! She said the way to remember how to spell it is Provo, and then BYU is in Provo and they are cougars which is a type of ferocious cat. Provocative.). Go here to find the trailer, it's super good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA6pPzh6Bd4&feature=related We drove through the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas (that was amazing to go through) and I stayed awake most of the time until we were about three hours-ish from Los Angeles.

Friday (10/10):
I was so happy when we finally got there (at four in the morning, CA time) and it was cool to look at the L.A. temple and all the buildings. We stayed in the L.A. temple hotel which was pretty nice but they didn't have a full kitchen or TV like Aunt Suzie's and I had to share a bed with Mackenzie and Ashley. Otherwise, it was great.

Mom and Emma went to Cheryl's apartment in the morning to help with the wedding so Dad, Ashley, Hannah, Amanda, Mackenzie, Skyler, and I went and drove around Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, and we walked around Hollywood Boulevard. First we drove around Beverly Hills and I tried to take pictures of the houses. I was in the back of the Kia with a very small window and Dad wouldn't slow down, so it was pretty cool that I managed to get these shots. The houses were huge and we stopped to take a picture of one house that was ginormous but then the gate started opening so we drove off because signs all around said that armed guards were on duty. After that, we went to McDonald's around Sunset Boulevard (in the car on the way to L.A. Hannah had said that we should go to McDonald's and get the fries and compare them to Utah's...) where you went into a tunnel to order. They gave me tiny chicken strips which was a rip-off.

When we got to Hollywood, we scavenged all around the car and pockets for quarters and parked. We went down the hill and Dad got more quarters while this guy tried to sell us tickets to have some tours (including getting to see Miley Cyrus's house! Yipee!). We said no. We walked down the street and we saw a purse shop right next to a bike shop. Perfect. The people divided into their accustomed shops. The woman at the purse shop really wanted us to buy. She was all over us and telling us how much something we so much as looked at cost and its qualities(well that's an exaggeration but you get the idea) and telling us we need to get it. I bought a purse which she said was originally $28, but she'll give me a discount and sell it just for $14. How nice of her. I got that and Ashley got a Beatles bag. I quickly put all of my stuff in my Tinkerbell purse into that one and gave good ol' Tink to Hannah. We walked down the street. We saw a guy who was about to pee his pants preaching and shouting, rapper who gave us a free C/D and begged for mulah. We saw a someone and something from King Kong, Darth Vader (who Amanda fought with), Spiderman with a crappy costume which made no one want to go up to him, Superman, Elmo who all us girls got a picture with (when Amanda and I were getting a pic with him, he started singing la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's girls. Ain't no hollaback girl and Hannah Montana is a banana and both of us were cracking up), Dora, this Grim reaper dude who started following Amanda and me and freaking us out, Tigger, the Tin Man, Jack Sparrow, the Hulk in a horrible costume, this Robot guy dressed all in silver (that was pretty cool, Amanda wasn't sure if he was real or not), Superman, and the Joker (which looked exactly like the real Joker). We then went over to the place where famous people put their hand prints in the cement and there were some from the 30's. I saw the one of Shirley Temple, and Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Roberts (Hermione Granger). I'm touching their hand, wand, and foot prints... where they actually were... You can see part of the ceremony at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVNUwIga_Cg&feature=related We then went to Bel-Air. There were huge hedges, trees, and all kinds of plants over everyone's house.

I called Mom to see where she wants me to go and she said it would be nice if we could help with the reception decorations and to go to Cheryl's. I told her we were tired but okay. I told Dad that Mom said that and then started talking to Amanda. We went back to the hotel and I was a little confused why but didn't complain. We went in and ate and I took a nap. Mom called Dad later and asked where he was. Both Mom and Dad got mad at me for not telling Dad that she wanted us to help so I had to explain that it's Dad's fault because he didn't listen to me like he should've when I told him clearly what Mom told me to.

We arrived, after much L.A. traffic, to the L.A. stake center which was huge and where Gordon B. Hinckley was some years ago dedicating it. We couldn't get inside because the gates were locked and they didn't have the key so Mackenzie and Ashley started walking up the hill so Amanda and I followed them. We walked around the block but I was a little nervous because I wasn't used to the people there and it wasn't a very good place. Mackenzie and Ashley then took off for smoothies and Amanda and I went back where everyone was mad at us. Whoops. They tried calling Kenzie and Ashley but they didn't answer their cells. Dad walked around the block looking for them and then when he couldn't find them we had to drive around. When we found them, Mom wasn't happy at all, but they got off easy. They were lucky.

We were finally able to get in and the church was huge. I walked around looking at all the pictures and I went upstairs and found a big room with a piano. I am drawn to those things and I started playing. Mackenzie and Skyler came in and we started singing some songs and then Ashley and Amanda came. Amanda said that they needed us down there but when we went down, they didn't do anything with us. We snook away and went down a hallway through a door I thought went outside, but it went into a small place where there were stairs going down and it went into the baptism room.

We stayed in there for a long long time and played Psychiatrist. The person who's 'it' goes out of the room and the rest pick a topic such as 'books'. They come back in and ask us questions and we answer them according to the topic and try to guess what the topic is. Amanda was it and she asked Mackenzie what her favorite name was and she said "A Child Called It". She asked Skyler what his favorite song was and he said "The Spirit of God" from "The Work and the Glory" and favorite food was "How to Eat Fried Worms". Dad then came in and we had him be 'it' and the topic was the alphabet. So the first question he asked was What's your favorite snow cone flavor? to Skyler and he said Apple. The next question was for Kenzie and was What's your favorite color? Blue. What's your favorite smell? camel meal (??? Is that right? anyway, it sounded like that...) What's your favorite body part? Denchers and we continued like that all the way to Z. (I had X which is one of the hardest, and he asked what my favorite song was and I said the X-men theme song, isn't that smart?) Skyler's question was Z and Dad still hadn't figured it out so he said What's your favorite instrument? We were so stumped. We were thinking xylophone, basson, bazooka (that's not an instrument...). But then, Amanda had a blond moment (ha! she's blond!). She said out loud Can it just have a Z in it or a Z sound because I can't think anything that starts with Z so does it have to start with Z? Amanda Amanda Amanda, what are we ever going to do with you?? He figured it out after that, but it was still fun. We started to play another game, but it wasn't as fun. Later that night, we were playing again and the topic was Indians and Cowboys. Amanda kept on saying It's something to do with Indians and something to do with cowboys but she just didn't get it. Finally Stephanie said Amanda, ask me what my favorite game is so Amanda asked and Stephanie said Cowboys and Indians. Amanda then said ooooh. We were doing another one where we had to answer with things that are illegal/against the law. Skyler was it so he asked her Where do you want to live? Amanda had no clue what to say so I started mouthing meth lab. Amanda then said A meth house or a crack lab and we all started laughing so hard! I have never seen her so blond before. She is so funny!

After that we went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Jim's family to meet them. They didn't have any kids :(. Everyone under 18 (all the cousins there) had a table to themselves and we tried to still play Psychiatrist but it was hard because it was so noisy. I didn't eat too much because I'm not too fond of Mexican food. The appetizers to me was the best part.

Saturday (10/11):
The next day we went to the wedding. Mom and Dad left at 12 PM and all of the cousins hung out at Suzie's hotel and then walked up to the temple. When Cheryl and Jim finally came out of the doors, I took tons of pictures. I got a lot of good ones and I was so happy that she got married. It was super windy though so I was really cold and everyone's hair was going crazy.

We went back to the hotel and everyone hung out for a while and Mom called all of these different stores trying to find a shawl thing for Cheryl. We headed to the reception and stopped on the way to get the thing for Cheryl. We had dinner which was super good. They had a lot of chocolate that Cheryl put wrappers on that said J&C, Oct. 11, 2008. She also made a whole bunch of homemade apple pies for everyone. I don't think I would do that for my wedding, but it was really cool.

I went upstairs and played the piano again and hung out with the other older cousins, but then I found the Chapel. It was so pretty and huge. I took lots of pictures and then I went around the rest of the church taking pictures. I played basketball in the gym with Dad and my cousins, and I found the nursing room which was packed with tons of food like chips, salsa, popcorn, peanut butter, etc. It was a really fun night and I had a lot of the chocolates.....

When we got back many many hours later I watched Grey's Anatomy and America's Next Top Model on Mom's laptop. When I finally went to bed, I had to squeeze between Mackenzie and Ashley and the whole night I felt so hot and a bit claustrophobic and some of my family members (I won't name to be nice) snore so that made it hard to sleep too. During the night I was rubbing my ear or something subconsciously and my earring fell out. I grabbed it again, but then I would fall asleep again and I would drop it. I did this over and over during the night and in the morning I couldn't find it so I now have to find new earrings to keep in 24/7.

Sunday (10/12):
We woke up early and got dressed and packed up the car. Mom said not to put on make-up but I caught her putting some on so I used hers too (I'd say hypocrite but I'm not sure if Mom would get mad at me for calling her that or not so I won't) Before we went we talked to some of the family. Poor Suzie has to drive around 26 hours, and I thought 12 was bad. Some people I know said that the five hour drive to Girls' Camp is the longest drive they've ever been on. Dad also said that he smelled smoke and Grandpa Wesley said that it was just a small fire somewhere. That's the fire that has killed two people, destroyed ten homes, and has made 1,200 people evacuate. The fierce wind that we had at the wedding spread the fire.

We got McMuffins and the ride home was so fun I can hardly tell you. In other words it wasn't as fun as the way there because this time I was sad we were going. We watched the Orphanage again and I slept more than last time. We got home and were very upset to see snow on the ground. It was sunnier and warm earlier that day....in L.A.....

Monday (10/13):
I went to school unhappily today. I stayed up late finishing homework on Sunday. Dad started his job today and came home with Sylvester. I think he likes his job. He had us all come in the living room and he announced "Presents!" I was thinking isn't the point of starting a new job getting money? Not spending more on presents to celebrate... But he brought things from his job from other companies. I got a sack thing, a picture holder pig thing, Aflac gum, a pen/highlighter and Ashley got a waterbottle and band-aid holder and just funny stuff like that. Thanks Dad!

Oh, I came up with a solution for why Sylvester is always acting so weird. I think he might have OCD (Obsessive Convulsive Disorder).

I'm going to have the pictures in the next post, I'm too tired to do it now.

Mission Possible

Tonight, we had Young Women in Excellence and the theme was "Mission Possible".

I made a blanket for my project in the knowledge category. I have been working on it a lot during the summer until I ran out of yarn. On Monday, I went with Dad to get 3 more rolls of yarn from Roberts. I have been crocheting like crazy to finish it and on Monday I went though the first roll and yesterday (Tuesday) I went though another. I was trying to crochet the last one today when I realized that the yarn was slightly different. It was the tiniest bit different that I didn't catch it, but after crocheting it into the blanket you could tell something wasn't right. Stupid people who made it, it looks almost identical to the actual color I wanted and it was the same brand. So I undid that part and quickly wove in the extra pieces of yarn hanging off, from switching rolls, before Mom made me get ready.

We had to wear a button up shirt, a suit jacket, a tie, and sunglasses. Mom said I should wear Dad's suit but I didn't really want to--it was big and didn't look right on me. Mom let Ashley and me wear her suit jackets that she got for interviews and accounting stuff and I also got to wear her button up shirt that she bought and told us we're dead if we get them dirty. Ashley and I didn't want to wear a tie but I don't think it really mattered.

When we got there I set up my project in the middle half of the gym with the other Beehive stuff (for just another ten days...) and went into to the back half.

They started the opening stuff and then the lights went out. We heard moving around and the "Mission Impossible Theme Song" started playing. The people moving around also knocked something over. When the lights were turned back on, Bro. Lewis (the second counselor in the bishopric) had a harness on and was hanging (close to the ground) from the ceiling. He was wearing a suit and sunglasses too. He got down and got out his briefcase. He opened it and took out a tape player and put it on the table in front of him. It said that his mission is he has 48 hours to do a dangerous task to help the Young Women of this ward succeed in Personal Progress... or something along those lines. It then said that this message will destruct (and I saw Bro. Lewis press a button on the floor and the tape player started to look like it was smoking) in five, four, three, two, one, zero and then a lot of smoke billowed up.

Brother Lewis then started naming all of the girls (each of us had a code name) from Laurels down to Beehives and explained briefly why we got each of our code names while each of the girls stood up and people took pictures, and some of them were really funny. They put me in Mia Maids even though my birthday isn't for another ten days. I stood up and put my right hand on my head and my left on on my hip for my pose since my code name is "Hairdo". I can see why they named me that. Some of the different code names were Dancing Queen-Ashley, Bo Peep-Katie, The Rock-Mary, Hollywood-Hillary A., Pearly Whites-Joye, Care Bear-Jessica, Ferrari-Porscha, Hoops-Sariah, Spike-Kailey, Tough Cookie-Megan, Swan Princess-Heather, Goldie Locks-Kayla, and Sportster-Karlie. Those are the only ones I remember, but wow I have good memory.

Each of the groups (Beehive, Mia Maid, Laurel) went into a different room where we were given advice by each of the leaders and we were given weapons (gum and a rock for protection). We came back and the bishop talked to us for a while and pretended it was 48 hours later. We then looked at all of the projects and had refreshments. A lot of people were impressed with my blanket. Some of the projects were doing soccer, singing groups, this new Beehive made a dress, a church scrapbook, cooking, rock climbing, drawing, learning guitar, top soccer (helping kids with down syndrome and things like that play soccer), and writing in journals. We had hoho's, licorice, and this orange drink thing.

When we got home, Mom said she felt like steak so she made shish kabobs. We're also getting ready to head to L.A. tomorrow after school which I'm really excited for. It's going to be fun! We have to be back by Monday though because Dad is starting his new job (yayayayayayay!!!!!) but we get to explore on Friday. I need to take lots of pictures for a project in science while I'm there.

Speaking of school, I got my midterms. My grades are pretty good and in science and English, I have the highest rank (which means I have the best grade) which is pretty cool. I'll see most of you in L.A.! Californication...well really short, but still...Californication....