There is nothing better in the world...

1. ...than weddings. The adorable and lovely Ariel Jackson got married to the charming and handsome Stephen Martin on July 17th, and I was in love with their wedding. It was literally the most fun I have ever had at a reception. There were lots of wardies there, and we all danced and danced to Bieber and ate cake. It was a blast. And so beautiful.

2. ...than Pioneer Day. We are so lucky to live in Utah and get an extra holiday which = an extra day of no work. Pioneer Day this year was a crazy blast. The events included: 1) Thursday afternoon: Lene, Sarie, and I went to 7 Peaks for the $6 after 6pm deal. It was awesome to just be with the girls. There is extra anxiety with swimsuit wearing when boys are involved. 2) Thursday night: campout in Mona (a little bit South of Santaquin). There were a whole bunch of wardies there at first, but when it came time to sleep (and actually camp), most people went home. Me, Dani, Lene, Michael (Dani's bf), and Seth (Dani's bf's roommate) were the only ones that stayed. Dani and I slept in the back of Dani's Subaru. I don't think I have ever had a more comfortable night's sleep camping in the wilderness. We slept with the hatch open so we could fell the lovely night air and see the stars, but we covered at the same time. It was lovely. 3) Friday morning: WATER FIGHT (see number 3). 4) Friday afternoon: swimming at the Moon pool (apartment complex in our ward) and baptisms at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. 5) Friday night: Inception. Everyone loves this movie. I thought it was cool, but I definitely had mixed feelings. The whole idea just wasn't exactly moral to me. They were criminals, but somehow not in a good way. And I didn't like the way they messed with people's dreams. I don't know. It just rubbed me the wrong way. It was upsetting. But the movie was fascinating to watch nonetheless. 6) Saturday morning: Days of '47 Parade in SLC. Me, Lynne, Lene, Sarie, and Joey drove down. And we got an AMAZING shady, grassy spot on a little hill at the beginning of the parade. President Uchtdorf was in the parade this year. He waved at me.

(Me, Lene, Joey watching the parade. I have a sleepy eye.)

7) Saturday afternoon: the Farmer's market in SLC. We walked around booths for a while, got lunch, and then I went to visit my cousin, Shawn. He was working the booth for his father-in-law. He gave me delicious cherries. I tried to pay him and he said, "We don't take Potty money here." (he calls me Potty. It's short for "Potter" and "Audi Potty") Then we walked over to the Gateway and did a little shopping. I escaped the place without buying anything- except a present for my darling Elise. 8) Saturday night: Dinner with Stephanie at Terra Mia (I can always use a pure and simple Margarita Pizza), and then a sleepover with Rachelle (see number 5). It was a fantastic weekend. And I was so tired.

3. ...than breaking world records and starring in music videos. So on Saturday, July 23rd, BYU put on a giant water fight in hopes of breaking the world record. With over 120,000 water balloons and about 4,000 people, we broke, but not necessarily smashed, the record. Have you ever been in a giant giant water balloon fight? Being in the middle of the fight is not really a pleasurable experience. It's painful. I don't know why, but the balloons had a hard time popping, and they would just smack into you, and it felt like getting punched. But who cares? It was AWESOME! Mass chaos, people throwing balloons everywhere, all 4,000 people becoming instantly soaked in water. What better way could there possibly be to spend a Friday morning? There isn't one. I was part of the breaking of a world record. To be put in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was way too much fun. And then after, we dance partied it up in our soaking wet, heavy clothes up by the DJ, and along with a large group of people, were selected to be part of the filming of a music video. And up-and-coming artist, Kyle Andrews, was using our water balloon fight for his music video. We stayed an extra hour or so to film another water fight, dance some more, carrying Kyle around on our shoulders, and so on. And THEN, when we were leaving, the DJ chose to put on a song that should be known to everyone and all as art: "Bohemian Rhapsody." Needless to say, we stayed on the field and danced and sang to that lovely song, all the while Lene filmed us, putting our performance in forever lasting memory. My experience at the water fight was complete. Oh, and then they gave us free lunch. Sandwiches and ice cream.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

(man standing in yellow rain pants: Kyle Andrews. The artist. And I actually really liked his song. It was called "You Make Me Smile" or something like that. It was Jason Mraz/"Hey Soul Sister" style. Kind of a mixing of the two.)

4. ...than Michael Jackson's 2001 album, Invincible. This is a treasure that I recently discovered/have become obsessed with. It fits in nicely with all the Queen craziness. A Michael break is always appreciated. So, the thing that I am trying to figure out, is why I didn't listen to this album like, at all, before? It just blows my mind, because the album is really good. There are a TON of good songs on it. I even have a new Michael favorite: "Speechless." It is pure beauty. I listen to it over and over and over again. I played it for Lene on the way to Mona, and then on the way back she said something that I will always love her for: "Can we listen to that "Speechless" song again?" I was ecstatic. Let's just say that I might enjoy my music more than the average person enjoys theirs. And I constantly try to make others enjoy the same music I do, because let's face it: I talk about it all the time. I casually bring up, say, Queen, in casual conversation with different people at least once a day. I have been known to repeatedly ask: "So, on a scale of 1-10, how much do love Queen? I'm currently at like a 15." Anyway, when Lene requested a recent favorite of mine, I just about peed my pants in excitement. We listened to it repeatedly, and then I tried to expose her to more of my faves. One a related note, Sarie was also in the car on the way to Mona when I exposed "Speechless." She commented, not about that song in particular, that Michael's voice sounded feminine. She told me she didn't want to offend me, but didn't I agree? I didn't know what to say. I really was speechless. Michael's voice is not feminine. It is not masculine, either (well, sometimes it is). It is just Michael, and that is the way he sounds. And no one else sounds like him. I guess when you think about it, he does sound a little feminine sometimes. But really, the thought had never occurred to me because Michael Jackson just sounds the way that Michael Jackson sounds. Isn't that weird?

5. ...than turtle cookies. Rachelle spent the night at my/our old apartment last last weekend. She came to church with me on Sunday, and then after, we decided that to celebrate Christmas in July (it was July 25, and Elise, the magic Christmas elf herself, reminded me to celebrate it) we would make Christmas sugar cookies and then eat all of them. Ourselves. Well, I went into the kitchen to start the process, and Rachelle was sitting in the living room doing... something. And then I suddenly had a brilliant idea. I GASPED very loudly and exclaimed, "I know what we should make instead of Christmas cookies!" (it's not like we had been trying to think of something to make instead or anything) I looked into the living room at Rachelle and she looked up from what she was doing and yelped, "TURTLE COOKIES!" And it was precisely what I had been thinking of. Same brain wave, Rachelle and I. Funny thing is that it had been over two years since we had made turtle cookies. They were a distant memory to both of us, yet they were the first treats that came to mind in such excitement. I love that Rachelle. So we made turtle cookies. We didn't have any cocoa, though, so we used a packet of chocolate pudding powder instead of both cocoa and white sugar. Chocolate flavored sugar. They were delish, but had a bit of a different consistency than usual. We'll have to make them again soon. But use the right ingredients next time.

6. ...than working at the Special Collections. I pretty much choose my own schedule. I get to take days off. I get to read obituaries everyday, which, most of the time is very interesting. I get to look at old stuff. Recently I found a document signed by Brigham Young. I showed it to John, my boss, and he got all excited. He told me that that piece of paper/signature was worth probably 5 or 6 thousand dollars. I am so grateful for my job, even if I complain about going a lot of the time.

7. ...than spending time with cousins that I love. I spend Wednesday through Friday with Dallin, Dustin, Daxton, and Dawson while Dave, Sherry, and Dallas were out of town. I was on little boy cousin babysitting duty, and let me tell you, it was exhausting. And I got really sick of cooking and cleaning up. But I loved the time that I was able to spend with my boys. Look below to experience the adorableness. I didn't get a picture of Dallin. He was too consumed by his xbox 360, which is a whole other story that, frankly, I don't want to get into. I hate video games. And none of the pictures I took of Dustin turned out. That boy has no patience for the camera. He turns his head or refuses to smile. Anyway: below are Daxton and Dawson. Possibly the most adorable 2 boys of ages 8 and 4.

 8. ...than watching Zac Efron play a troubled but very talented sailor who won a sailing scholarship to Stanford. Charlie St. Cloud, ladies. See it. The movie is a B or a C. It's weird. And sometimes cheesy. But Zac is actually a good actor, and he does a very good job. The movie is worth the money if only for Zac and his "handsome, rugged, chiseled, and great" features. Also, I might add that there is nothing better in the world than the student deal at the Wynnsong theater at the Riverwoods in Provo. $5.75 for a movie. That's cheaper than a matinee in St. George.


9. ...than Harry Potter birthday parties. See next post.

10. ...than the unexpectedness of Freddie Mercury. Once again, surprised. He has two solo albums. One is titled, Mr. Bad Guy. WHAT? Coolest album title ever, right? Mr. Bad Guy. That's hilarious. The second one is called Barcelona, and is actually not quite a solo album- he shares it with Montserrat Calballe, a female Spanish operatic soprano. They made a whole. album. together. Question: did anyone expect that? And you know what, it totally works. Here's a small taste: (she comes in at like 1:43)

11. ...than the BYU all-sports pass. Those things are literally my favorite thing about BYU. Actually that might not be true. But I do love them. A lot. I have been counting down to BYU football since basketball season ended in March. I. Am. Excited. And I just bought an all-sports pass. One more year of great BYU sports before I graduate. Wow. That actually sounds awful. Why do people have to graduate from college? Why? Let me say forever.

12. ...than turning down the internship at the Library of Congress in exchange for the awesome summer that I have had in Provo. I do not regret that decision. I never have once.

My world in Provo is just such a good place.

STARVATION.

Have you ever gone three days almost completely without food? Yes, I've been there now. I have been super deprived. So this is the story. I left for Washington at 8:15 Vegas time in Saturday morning. Prior to the flight I had a sausage mcmuffin. I was also, somehow, without a water bottle. When I got to my new residence in Washington, D.C. at 7:30pm, the only things I had eaten in between were airplane crackers and raisins. I was STARVING. So, I immediately went to dinner. Meal #1. Then, stupidly enough, I was too excited to make a trip to the grocery store. I did, however, find some plastic cups. I used the cup for drinking, and kept it in my room for future use, since I was still without a water bottle. The next day, unfortunately, was Sunday, which meant that a grocery store trip was a no. I survived that day on granola bars and a piece of strawberry shortcake from the linger longer after church. Oh, I also had a package of pretzels from the front desk of our building. Me and my roommate, who is also without food, caiphed them and carried them in our purses to church. That's the kind of thing that massive hunger makes you do. We also collected another 2 plastic cups from the ward function. They were also brought home in our purses. And now, it is Monday, 3:43 in the afternoon, and I ate a granola bar this morning, got a bagel from our professor, and a hot dog from a cart about an hour ago. That hot dog was pickin' 4 dollars! But so delicious. And, you can congratulate me, I finally bought a water bottle. I will no longer go thirsty. Yay me!

But see, running on little to no food wouldn't be this bad normally (well, I first have to say that I WOULD NEVER NORMALLY DO THIS! I am not anorexic, I LOVE FOOD WAY TOO MUCH. It is a temporary solution, I am running to the grocery store right after I finish this post, and I will go alone if I have to! And yes, Mom, I will be safe!), but, I have been walking SO much. Several miles a day, I would say. Yesterday we rode the metro to Arlington National Cemetary, then walked back to the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War and Vietnam memorials, the White House, and THEN back to Foggy Bottom where we live. Round trip, it took several hours, and I was without water the whole time (except when we found a drinking fountain randomly). And then today, we had a class in the morning, and then split into groups to find our internships. We walked aimlessly trying to find this one guy's FOR THE LONGEST TIME, and then the overbearing girl at the front of the group decided that we shouldn't use the metro, because she didn't want to pay for it. It was slightly contentious to say the least. I hate it when people act like they know what they are talking about, when they really don't. This girl is married and pregnant, though, so I didn't blame her for being kind of snotty. But I did think it was weird that she didn't want to ride the metro. Crazy.

We finally found what we were looking for, and I convinced everyone to get on the metro and just RIDE to the Smithsonian. So, I found my internship location. It is right on the mall. I love that place. It's like my fave. The address to the Museum of American History is actually 14th street and Constitution Ave. I love it. We walked around inside for a while, and it was pretty sweet. My favorite thing in there so far was Seinfeld's puffy shirt. It's on display. I didn't take pictures this visit, though, those will come later.

The other problem with going without food and water is the HEAT. It is very humid here, and the past three days have been record breaking temperature-wise. Apparentely it's usually in the 60s this time of year, but yesterday it was 92 degrees! Insanely warm for April. I hate feeling sticky.

And last, before I post pictures, I just have to say that I love being here. It's so worth the foot pain (from walking so much), the starvation and thirst, the heat, the everything. I so happy to be here. It's really pretty. I love the trees, and all the buildings are really cool. I love being able to walk or ride the metro everywhere I go. It's just so convenient! I love it. And I love my roommate. Her name is Genevieve Swift, and we get along very well. She stays up with me and talks when we are in bed, and I love doing that. I will post pictures of us soon! We haven't taken too too many yet, and they are all on her camera, so be excited for when they are posted! I also really like all the other people in the program. We are all actually pretty good friends already, which is so fun.

I think that's about it. Enjoy the pictures! Until next time!

P.S. I was really limited on what I could bring with me because of weight limits and stuff, and I just want to say that the only thing that I brought that was not practical was my Link Larkin Calendar. I love it. Go Zac.

P.P.S I am SO watching American Idol tomorrow. I super excited. Vote for Matt, will ya?

Cherry blossoms! Yay! I thought I would miss all of those. This picture is really cool because you get a good view of a lot of headstones at Arlington, but also because of the lone blossomed tree. It was SO pretty. I really love Arlington.This is the view of D.C. from Robert E. Lee's home, across the Potomac.The Korean War Memorial. My fave besides Jefferson. I love the inscription and fountain. It says, "Freedom is not Free." So profound.It was getting dark at this point. These are some of my crew. My roomy had left and gone home by this point, so she totally missed our LONG walk and trip to the White House, which is featured below. Left to right the people are Cameron, Lisa, Matt, Michelle, me, and Adam. The glare from the flash is there because we are standing in the crevace of the Vietnam Memorial wall. And yeah, I know the picture is crappy and dark. I posted it anyway because it's the only I have with me in it. :(
This is my museum!!!! The Museum of American History. Isn't it lovely??!! This is only a small portion of the front of it. The hot dog cart I got my hot dog from! Yum! Don't you just love all the trees?!! So pretty.

Edit: I have now returned from the grocery store. I spent $50 on groceries! The closest grocery store is a Safeway, and guess where it is???!!! Under the Watergate Hotel. Yes, the infamous watergate. I walked there today, and I bought food. YAY.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY WEEK EVER. Except for finals.

Monday: Okay, fine. So Monday was no fun. I had to write two papers. But we played kickball for FHE!

Tuesday: My birthday!!! YAY! Happy birthday to me! I had to get up early to finish one of my papers, and then finish the other one during my break. It was okay though; a necessary evil. I got to leave campus at 3, and it was the last day of classes, so good news. When I came home I snuggled up on the couch and watched music videos, which is one of my favorite pastimes. My new favorite music videos are Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You," and Katy Perry, "Thinking of You." Kelly's video is hilarious, and Katy's has Kyle XY in it. :) By the way, I'm sorry, I don't care what anyone says. Kelly Clarkson is amazing and I love her music.

At 7:00pm, I got to watch American Idol! The whole thing! I love American Idol. And I love Matt G. We had some trauma this week. He did not perform to the best of his abilities, but, I still love him, and I still pre-ordered this week's song on iTunes. The recording is amazing, by the way. I encourage everyone to go on iTunes and listen to the clips of his recordings, cause they are the best. If you only listen to one, listen to "Human Nature." Blows me away. I love it. When Meghan and I listen to it in the car, we both kind of melt and she says, "his voice just sounds like heaven," and then I agree, and we talk about how amazing the song is for a while. It happens every time. Anyway, what better day to have a birthday than on a Tuesday that is not only the last day of classes, but is the night of American Idol performances? It was perfect.

After American Idol, we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Most of the gang was able to come. We missed Lauren, Lorina and Dani, though. :( I love Old Spaghetti Factory. What other restaurant gives you salad with an amazing house dressing, sourdough bread with delicious butter, your scrumptious meal, AND spumoni ice cream for dessert??? It's the best. AND, it just so happens that on Tuesdays this month they have 40% off part of the menu!! Again, lucky my birthday was on a Tuesday!Following dinner was dancing! I know it's loserish to go to on-campus dances because only freshman go to those, but we just wanted a party and dancing. So, me, Meg, Rachelle, and Ann went. It was actually quite fun, except that they played a lot of dumb music. I requested a song, and the DJ said he didn't have time for it. So I told him it was my birthday. He still didn't play my song. What nerve, right? He even played a slow country song. How rude! :)

So, when the dance ended, we gathered up our stuff, and I realized that somehow, somewhere, I had lost my keys. We wandered around the Wilk for a while asking everyone if they had any keys, and nobody had. After about five minutes of looking, I was starting to freak out a little bit. I needed my car keys! First of all, I just need them to get places! Second, it was my birthday! Third, I was parked in an "A" lot, which means that I would get a ticket if I was still parked there the next morning. Bad news. Fourth, I didn't have a spare key. My mom would have to ship me one from St.G. And fifth, it was POURING rain outside. We were not in very good circumstances. But we decided to go outside and retrace my steps to the car. I was very glad that my mom had just given me a new umbrella and raincoat for my birthday. It was perfect for the dreary occassion. Well, we got out to the car and I noticed that I left my purse in there. Locked in. Meghan saw that her purse was also in there, locked in. So, not only did I have missing keys, but I did not have access to my wallet, my camera, my phone, my iPod, my anything! What is a girl to do in this sort of situation? Well, she calls Dani, who comes to pick everyone up, and tells me to call Campus Police. (801-422-2222). Oh the brains that girl has! The policeman said someone would be by to unlock the door momentarily. Momentarily turned in to like half an hour, but once he got there, the door was unlocked in a jiffy, and miracle of miracles, MY KEYS WERE IN MY PURSE!!! Problem solved, major crisis averted.

So then, we realized that it was like 11:50, and almost not my birthday anymore! I had 10 minutes to gather the gang and blow out my candles on my cake before the birthday magic was gone. So, right when we got home, I called Meg, who had ended up at Lorina and Lauren's, and she called Kyle, and I called Paul, and somehow Kaitlin and Spencer just sensed they needed to be there, so they showed up, and it was a regular party, planned and coordinated within 10 minutes! Rachelle had been in charge of my cake- she got this amazing lemon deliciousness at Costco. I loved it.

All in all, it was a great birthday. Quite eventful.

Wednesday: Reading day of relaxation and no studying, and Pebbles. :) Oh, and that night, we went to Wal-Mart to get stuff for Ashley's shower. And guess what? IT WAS SNOWING. Like, really bad. Major blizzard. On the way back, we couldn't see the freeway AT ALL. It was very hilarious.

Thursday: Me and Meghan actually decided to study. We had to. So, we went to the library at about 10 (the plan had been to get there at 9. Yeah, right.) We stayed until 3, when Kaitlin picked us up to go shopping for Ashley's bridal shower present. We were in and out of Victoria's Secret at Provo Towne Center within like 10 minutes. It was incredible. We had to hurry because I was supposed to go in to work at 4. And I made it! I worked a two hour shift, because then I had to come home for Ashley's shower! Rachelle and Kaitlin planned it, and it was fabulous.

After the shower, me and Meg went back to the library. We studied for approximately 3 more hours. and THEN, the best event of the week! 17 Again!!! the first, premiere, midnight showing. Yeah, so I had a final the next morning at 7am, but you're only young once, right? (haha) Me, Meg, Rachelle, Kaitlin, Dani, Lorina, and Stephanie all went. And I just want to say this: ZAC EFRON IS SO HOT IT'S RIDICULOUS. Ok, I'm done. But seriously, that movie was really really funny. We all loved it, and are all kind of obsessed now. We got home around 2, and I went straight to bed.

Friday: The next morning, I woke up at like 6:15 so I could go over my notes before my test. Yes, I love getting 4 hours of sleep. It really was VERY stupid of me to have done it, BUT SO WORTH IT! I took my test- it was British Lit, and I actually think I did okay on it. It worked out very well. Yay! The rest of the day was serene. I came home and went back to sleep. For a long time. And then I studied for Mission Prep for a couple of hours. That night, I had to work my last shift at Pebbles. Sad day! I was so super tired, though, that I just wanted to go home and had a hard time savoring those last moments behind the register. Oh well. I have a feeling I'm going to be really sad about this in a couple of days when I realize that I really won't be going to work there again anytime soon (or ever again). I have loved working at Pebbles. It has meant so much to me. And I have such good friends there. I love you guys!

Saturday: A very busy day. Me and Meg were supposed to have turned in our Mission Prep final that morning at 8, but at about 1am the night before, we realized that we could turn it in next week instead, so we slept in. That afternoon I had Audrey P.'s baby shower to go to. I got Darbi a ducky hoody towel. I love duckies. And I got a 4th of July dress for a 0-3 month old. Hopefully she'll be the size of a newborn by July!

After the shower I went to Pebbles for our party. I pretended it was my going-away party. Danielle, both Amy's, Stephanie, Stacie, and Keli were there- Audrey P. showed up towards the end. Anyway, it was a very productive night! I got Kaitlin's sign-in book done, and I did like 6 pages for my roommate scrapbook! All in like 5 hours! I know, I'm incredible. I have never done that much in such a short amount of time.

And last, after the Pebbles party, we had our MASSIVE SLEEPOVER! We all finally gathered at around 1Am at Hannah's house. We had our mad dance party and played apples to apples, and had a CRS. It was so much fun, and I just have to say that we are the biggest bunch of nerds ever. I love it! Hannah has a king size mattress on her floor that six of us slept on, and then we blew up a queen air matress for another three girls. Before we went to bed though, we jumped on the beds and sang Celine Dion songs at the top of our lungs. If you didn't already know that we were 2o and 21-year-olds, you probably would have guessed that we were 12. It was a blast, though. I'm really going to miss those girls.

And that is the end of the week. It was a good one. :)

I want to see 17 Again, again.

Almost equivalent to "She's the Man." And that's saying something.

Weekly Review (3/29-4/5)

Monday: MAKING MEMORIES WAREHOUSE SALE. Warehouse sales are one of my favorite things. You get good scrapbooking stuff for super cheap! Audrey P, Danielle, Natasha, Stacie, and I went together. I love my Pebbles girls. The super buy of the day was...... some REALLY REALLY sparkly blue and pink paper!!!! It was only a quarter a sheet. And the best news is, I only spent $13!! Okay, so my limit was $10, but still.

Tuesday: Snowy. American Idol--top download week. I'm still in love with Matt G's voice. So hot.
Wednesday: April Fool's!! Elise's birthday. School, work.

Thursday: MEGHAN GOT HER MISSION CALL!!! I drove home from work to see her open it. She is going to Boise, ID. So exciting. If you want to see a video of it all, click on the link to Lorina's blog. Also, on this very same day, Anisa Bennet got her mission call--- to Washington, D.C. South!!! She is going to be in the field while I am still there doing my internship!! Yay yay yay!

Friday: How do I not remember what we did on Friday??? I remember that I supposed to scrapbook with Audrey P, but it didn't happen. Why??? Oh wait, I remember. There was a bridal shower for Ashley that night. A very good, well organized bridal shower, by the way. And one thing to add- I TOTALLY should have won that game. There were cheaters in our midst.

Saturday: General Conference, work at Pebbles, and then the best game ever. I got, in my kids' meal at Arby's, THE BEST GAME EVER! The improv version is my sisters' favorite game, but I got an official one. It's called... "Would you rather..." In my family, the questions go something like this: "Would you rather go roller blading with Nick Jonas, or Jump rope with Joe Jonas??" The answer is always immediately, "JOE!!!!" Why do we even ask??? Or recently I asked Stephanie, "Would you rather play a regular role on 'Boy Meets World,' or co-star in a movie with Christian Bale?" She practically screamed at the idea. The answer was emphatically a movie with Christian. Anyway, the game that I got at Arby's had questions like. " Would you rather have a giant eyebrow that goes in a big circle all around your face and is un-pluckable, or ear and nose hair that is very long and cannot be trimmed??" Oh gosh, both such horrible options! They were really funny to talk about. I said, that if you were a boy, neither of these options would be as bad because your giant eyebrow could look kind of like a beard, and your long nose hair could possibly mistaken for a mustache- if you comb it right. And the ear hair could be sideburns. Too bad we aren't male.

Sunday: General conference. I watched the first session at home, and then the second at Grandma Colleen's house. Steph and I drove up to Ogden between sessions, and she made us THE BEST DINNER. The problem with eating at Grandma's is that she makes a ton of food, and then she expects you to eat it all, and tried to give you more. We has salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, a roast, broccoli, army rice, pineapple and cottage cheese, lemonade, strawberry shortcake, and ice cream cones. I ate enought to nourish me for a week. But it was yummy.

By the way, I had a dream that Meghan was going to Bora Bora in her mission. That did not come true. I'm losing my psychic powers.

Also, make sure you check out the post below this one. It's got some great stuff in it. :)

More pictures of the other events are yet to come.

And last, I am DYING to see "17 Again." It comes out on Friday. YAY!!!! Here is a picture from the movie, just to motivate you all to go see it.

"Step in to the future, but hold on to..."

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, who says you have to let it go?"

I went to HSM3 on Monday night with faithful friends, Kennedy and Rachelle. I absolutely LOVED IT! Reasons why HSM 3 was amazing:
1) Zac Efron is ridiculously good looking.
2) One word: SCREAM.
3) The Boys are Back.
4) The best choreography ever.
5) An excellent sountrack.
6) There is actually a song called "High School Musical" (as quoted in the title and first line of the is post). Can I say perfect?
7) I'm in love with Troy Bolton. We're getting married.
8) I love musicals.
9) Sharpay and Ryan are hilarious. "I want it all!"
10) The movie included everything: the basketball championship, a new school musical, prom, and graduation. Plus, there were plenty of precious Gabriella and Troy scenes.
11) It was the kind of movie that is just SO fun to watch! You just sit there and smile the whole time, and when it's over, you want it to start again.
12) There isn't much of a plot, but it doesn't matter! The movie is just pure entertainment (and slight awkwardness for the extra cheesy parts).
13) There were like 5 previews before the movie. And I love previews.
14) There were bloopers during the credits. I love bloopers.
15) They danced on cars! And in the rain! And on the roof!
16) I love that in reality, there is NO WAY that Gabriella would go to Stanford (and in a special freshman academy for only 20 kids), Taylor would go to Yale, Ryan and Kelsey would get scholarships to Julliard, and Troy would go to Cal State on a basketball scholarship. I'm sorry, but that doesn't happen. But this all makes the movie a fairy tale. And I love fairy tales with happy endings.

I guess we do have to let it go. The glorious High School Musical days as we know them are just about over. And it's ok. All good things must come to an end (like Harry Potter). But seriously, don't forget to hold on the High School Musical, like the song says. You gotta love it.

PS, In my book of songs, "Scream" is currently contending with "Bet on It" for best song to listen to when you're feeling lazy and need a burst of energy. I think it may take the top spot- there's no denying the slow beginning and electric bridge to the main part of the song. It's an angry song- and I love it. "Bet on It" is very hard to beat, though.