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.
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.
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.
