Book of Secrets

Today Mom, Rich, and I saw the coolest movie ever--"National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets"!!!! When it began in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865, I knew it was going to be a winner. We even got to see Abraham Lincoln for a second before he got shot by John Wilkes Booth! There were park rangers, Confederate treasures, people handling old documents without gloves, and hidden tunnels under Mt. Vernon--could it get any better than that? I think not.

Well, I'm off to have a fun sleepover with Camden and Riley. I have been instructed to put on my p-jamas, then we are going to go watch "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and go to bed.

Cavity Free

Hooray--I have no cavities! I had to go to the dentist this morning, and I was having scary flashbacks to the last time I went there and he found two cavities and then I had to get them filled and he didn't do a very good job giving me the shots in my mouth, so it hurt really bad. I was a little (or a lot) concerned today when he pulled out his drill and said he wanted to do something to one of my back teeth, but he was just polishing one of the previous fillings, so no shots were necessary.

Sorry I forgot to write on my blog yesterday. It was just such a fun, busy day that it totally slipped my mind. Yesterday I did a lot of work on my Zion National Park book. Thankfully one of mom's friends had a grandpa who was a chief ranger down at Zion in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, so she has a lot of her mom's old photos. Mom and I went to her house and scanned pictures for a while, then we decided to take the rest of the pictures home so I could just spend the rest of the day scanning without taking up their kitchen table. I think that the book is coming together, but there will still be a lot of work to do. This next semester is going to be absolutely crazy with school and finishing the Zion book, but I guess I got good practice this last semester :-)

After Mom and I scanned pictures yesterday, we had a tasty tropical shrimp burrito at our favorite Mexican food restaurant: El Azteca! I had missed El Azteca very much, so it tasted especially good to me yesterday. I also got a new phone yesterday which is very exciting. It is red and when someone calls me, it plays the song: "Breakfast at Tiffany's." :-)

Today after going to the dentist, Mom and I went to the MTC to help fill gift bags for the missionaries for Christmas. There is a great spirit at the MTC, and it was fun to be there doing Christmas service. It's good to know that even if missionaries won't be receiving a lot of gifts from home, they will still have a nice Christmas present. The gift bags we put together today were extra special because we knew that a lot of people had donated time and money to help gather everything--in fact, even Camden, Riley, and Sidney donated money and sticky notes for the missionaries!

After the MTC, Mom and I went and had lunch with one of our favorite people of all time: Yevon! She met us at Zupa's, and we had a great time catching up on everything. That is my favorite part of coming home for the holidays--getting to see all of my family and friends who I have missed very much. I had planned on going to Greg's mom's work Christmas party with her tonight, but unfortunately--even though I am cavity free--I'm not feeling too great this afternoon. I think I'm going to curl up in some blankets and work on the Zion book. After going to the dentist, I feel extra motivated to not eat candy and stuff like that, but that will only last for about a day and then I'll be back to normal :-)

The New Do

Hooray--my new "do" is done! Today I got my hair highlighted. Now my hair is lighter--both in weight and color :-) Today was a fun and busy day. After getting my hair done, Mom and I went to lunch at Thai Village in American Fork with Greg's mom Pam Bowles. She is super nice, and we had a fun time eating Thai food and telling embarrassing stories about Greg (just kidding Greg!). We did have a very nice lunch though. After lunch Mom and I went to visit the Barrett girls who just keep getting cuter every day! Camden told me all about all of the American Girl dolls and showed me the one that she hopes Santa will bring her for Christmas. Then Mom and I took Rich to work, and on our way back we stopped to see my good friends Andrew and Stefani Knaupp along with their cute boys Taylor and Dallin. I couldn't believe how big Dallin is getting! The last time I saw him he was just a little tiny baby, and now he is walking around the house. He turns one on Christmas Eve, but they'll be out of town then, so I took his birthday present today. He actually liked the card better than the present, but Taylor (who is 3) enjoyed playing with the gift :-) Stefani was one of my high school volleyball coaches, and we have remained friends over all these years. It is crazy to think that in 2009 it will have been 10 YEARS since I first joined the Mountain View High School volleyball team as a little 9th grader and met Stefani (aka Coach Gappmayer). A lot has happened in both of our lives since that time! 2009 will also be Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday--wouldn't it be cool to work at a Lincoln site in 2009??!! Anyway, it was a very fun day today, and Mom and I had a good time hanging out and watching one of our favorite movies this evening: "While You Were Sleeping." Tomorrow will be another busy but fun day.

Weight Loss Plan

Here is a new weight loss plan, and it doesn't even involve eating at Chuck-a-Rama: let your hair grow for a long time and get really huge and curly, and then go get it cut. It's amazing how much lighter you feel after getting the mane trimmed! I truly didn't realize how much hair I had until today when I went to get it trimmed up. I didn't get it cut really short--I just got the mass of curls in the back shaped up a bit. The girl cutting my hair said, "Wow, you have a lot of hair." It is much easier to manage now, and I'm looking forward to getting just a touch of color put into it in the morning. It's a good little face-lift after a stressful semester of school.

Today I also got to go visit Sister Terry over at the Orem Institute of Religion, and it was so great to see her! She is one of my dear friends. I worked as a secretary at the Institute for about two years and loved my job there. Today I also ran into my old boss, LaDean, at the Institute, and we had a fun little chat. She truly was a fun boss to have. I also ran into Brother Beck who is super funny and Brother Kauffman who looks like Jay Leno. Speaking of look-alikes, I also went to the doctor this morning for a little check-up, and I think that my doctor, Dr. Stacy, looks just like Mitt Romney! I say the two could be brothers. :-)

This afternoon Mom and I ran some errands, and we even got to go to Super Target! Next to my family, friends, and the mountains, I'd say that having Super Target just a couple of blocks away is one of the main things I've missed about home. I love that store. Well, the social agenda continues tomorrow, so I'd better get some good rest tonight.

Cake Monster!

Cookie Monster, look out--a new star of the show has arrived: Cake Monster (aka Sidney)! Tonight we celebrated Mom's birthday with everyone, and of course we needed more cake. Sidney loved having cake two nights in a row! I was in charge of making the cake today--if only Dr. Daynes could see me now--baking cakes right and left :-) Sidney virtually inhaled any cake that was placed before her, and then she wanted some ice cream. She's so silly. Camden and Riley enjoyed helping Grandma blow out the candle on the cake, and they were so excited about the cute birthday cards they made for her. We had some exciting games of hide-and-seek tonight and had a fun evening celebrating Mom's birthday. We also planned the big Christmas sleepover with Camden and Riley which will take place later this week. So many fun things to do!

It was fun to go to church today and see everybody. I have a lot of very good friends in our ward here, and there were also a lot of new faces. It's funny how quickly a ward can change! I think that some people didn't recognize me with my crazy curly hair. I think my hair has even gotten bigger just since Thursday--it needs to be tamed a bit. So, one thing on the agenda for tomorrow is getting a little haircut. I also get to go visit Grandpa Taylor and Grandma Cathy tomorrow night which will be very fun! Well, I'm off to bed--it has been a fun day today. I took about a 2.5 hr. nap this afternoon. I think I'm still trying to catch up on sleep from this past semester.