Perfect End to Summer

July 15th

Found out that we probably will not be switching church times in October since we're such a HUGE ward. Seriously, the YW can't meet in the YW's room anymore for opening exercises! We have to meet in the chapel. We kicked the brethren outta there a few months back, I feel bad because we're only in there for like fifteen minutes, but oh well.
Today and the last part of the week have been really great for me! I've just been in a super happy mood, not that I'm not usually happy, but it was a bit different for some reason. I guess I was nicer, I've been trying to be nicer to my family to try to improve that aspect of my life. Normally what happens is that I decide to be nicer, and then seriously like five minutes later, one of my family members does something on purpose to make me angry... but not this time around! I'm making more changes! I'm gonna be awesome. (I already am... but it's just something a lil' extra! haha) ;)
The talks were great today! We had people from the Stake visit all of our meetings, so that was fun! I like it when they come. Everything is nice and orderly. ;) They recapped Holland's talk from this past GC which I LOVE. Ah, it all just added to my happiness!
And then in Sunday school, I've decided that I need to participate more. I always sit quietly and don't answer any questions really, and I never talk to people other than my brother and Cal. But, that is also something that will have to change! I talked to a few more people today, and you know what, I actually liked it! Who knew?? ;) Sunday School/Medical/Physics Class is becoming more bearable and dare I say enjoyable!! :) We talked about the God Particle, soap, tephlon, migraines and allergens, gravity, 29Dimensions, and other crazy stuff. Seriously, I dunno how Fairbanks knows EVERYTHING. I kid you not, ask him just about anything and he has an answer for you right at the top of his head. He's a genius.
In YW, Sister Edwards the YW President was here! I just looooooove her! She is so great! We watched Mormon Messages for our lesson on building our testimonies.... that was right on the money. Those things make me cry no matter how many times I see them. I just adore them! :)
We got home, ate some yummy dinner that I helped make! (I'm on a roll this week! Let's hope that this next week will be GREAT! Who am I kidding? Of course it will be, we're gonna be in California! And maybe we'll see the Cluffs on Saturday! :D )
The Cluffs came over later to see the Havasupai pictures and eat dessert. I LOVE THEM. I can't say it enough! They are singlehandedly the greatest people ever. And that is saying a lot if it's coming from me! ;)
It was so embarrassing, as it usually is whenever our families are together... we were looking through OLD family photos before the parents got married and there were Halloween ones... and of course when they all arrive they choose a super awkward photo of me around Christmas time when I was probably 12 or 13 with paper towels shoved up the sleeves of my shirt making me look like I had buff arms, and I'm making this crazy face and "flexing".... oh dear. It was dreadful!! Haha! It was actually funny, but really, family? Thanks a lot!! ;) And then we were looking at all of the Havasupai pictures on the big screen up stairs... Back story: my WHOLE family thinks that me and Cal should end up together, ever since we've moved here, and somehow my whole extended family knows about him and thinks so, too... it's really odd and really funny at the same time so I just go with it because that's my life. I just go with things. Anyways, Toby was taking secret close up photos of me and Cal the ENTIRE trip! And I had no clue! It was so awkward when I found out. And even worse when we were showing all of these to them! Ahhhhh! And then to make it all worse, they were teasing and such and oh my goodness... if he wasn't scared then, he's most definitely scared now! Way to go, Toby. I can always count on you. He says they're for our wedding video.. WHAT PERSON DOES THAT?! haha!! :) It's way funny, at my expense, but that's a little extreme there dontcha think?
Anyways, me, Cal, Caleb, and Porter went out back and were playing on the trampoline for a few hours while everybody else chilled inside. It was so much fun! Porter was reading off random facts which were hilarious! Thank goodness for that! It was awesome. The Cluffs are also gonna be in Cali the same time we are so hopefully we'll be able to meet up with them on Saturday like they were talking because that would make my life!!

:D Ever had one of those perfect days?

July 16th

Did nothing worthy of any mention. Was at home all day long. Super bored. Did the usual stuff. Yeah.

July 17th

I went babysitting twice today for the same family, haha.
I told Lincoln Alleman that I love him and that he is the only one for me and he just ignored it. The usual. Haha this kid is ALWAYS over at our house, he eats our food, uses our computers, etc. He takes the phrase: Make yourself feel welcome! To a WHOLE new extreme. But I love him! No matter how weird he is. He is like my little 13 year old crush, kind of like how Colton is Kami's 13 year old crush. It's funny. We're cougars. Deal with it! ;)
I reedited a TON of photos today, and I really love doing that. A lot. I could edit photos for hours and hours and never get bored! It's a passion of mine, I guess you'd say. I'm out of material, however because I haven't taken any photos for a LONG time! I really want to get back into it, but there is only so much out in Queen Creek.. I mean, I see a lot of stuff that I can photograph, so I photograph it in my head, but I never have my camera on me. Photography and editing is my relaxing activity, it makes me think about and ponder things. I really don't know, I guess it calms me. I find it rather annoying however that every other teenage girl out there wants to be a photographer, and they're decent (I'm trying to be nice) and such but some of them are lacking SOMETHING. I don't necessarily WANT to be a photographer, it would be an amazing career, but that's it.. if I were good ENOUGH to make it a career. Anyone can buy a fancy DSLR and take pictures around town (which is what I do, I don't go out in town with this mindset that I'm going to be very artistic and hipster and photograph the life outta Queen Creek, it just so happens) I guess it's the contradicting inner hipster in me that is against the conformity of me being a teenage girl who likes photography and has their own photography blog... but here is the thing, I don't mean to brag, but I think I am quite good at what I do. I consider myself a very artistic person who is in tune with their natural eye for uniqueness and beauty in anything. I actually know I am. But I hate bragging, but design is one of those things I find it hard to stay humble about. Maybe that is how all the other teenage girls think, but that's how I feel. I don't know. I hate bragging about myself, and I am still insecure about my talents at times, but photography is something that I naturally picked up. I found it, I love it, I pursue it, I make time for it, etc. I essentially care about it. But I'm not obsessed, I don't take classes, I don't have the fanciest camera, I don't use Photoshop all the time, I don't book my weekends with photoshoots. It's more of a hobby. I hope to keep it with that mindset.
Anyways, I better get some sleep now because I have to wake up at four because WE'RE GOING TO CALIFORNIA! Let's hope I can get some new material over there.

July 18th

Woke up today at 4:30 and we were out the door by 5!! I just looooove road trips. Especially when they involve fun music blasting with the windows rolled down. :) it was a pretty quick drive, actually. I think I was asleep for some of it... COOLEST THING EVER: so, one of my favorite movies, Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour, was filmed in a little place called Pine Valley, California.. And it was on our way to Jen's house!! Yes, we drove right past it! As didnt see anything, except for a sign for Major's Diner. Haha we were SO excited! We're begging to stop there on our way back home. I really hope we do! It's already the highlight of my trip, anyways!
We got to Jen's probably around sometime in the afternoon... And we ate lunch and then hit the beach! It was alright. I didn't do much. Just "tanned" for two hours. Nothing happened! No burns, no tans... Nada! I was kind of sad. We didn't have our photoshoot either. Maybe tomorrow!
Porter and Caleb were feeding the birds with popcorn from November. It was weird.
I love being back here! It's been over a month since I came by myself. I forgot how much I've missed the cooler weather, my family, green grass, and the warm ocean breezes! I love it, but id rather visit than live here. Queen Creek is my home!
I got a look at my schedule today.. And it's all messed up!! No Honors Econ/Gov, they put me in Art Survey(?!) and then Mrs. Holland isn't teaching Dual Credit next year!! That's the sole purpose of why I took it again gosh dang it!! Seriously. It's not gonna be the same! I need to get this all rearranged by next Friday or I'm stuck like this. Why cant they just get it right??

July 19th

Today started off TERRIBLY. I felt so lightheaded and about to throw up. But Cal wasn't even around! ;) Hahahaha! And to make it worse... We were gonna be at the beach ALL DAY LONG today. Just what I need! :P I can't be out in the sun like that for too long, or else I feel like that. I was thinking it was sun poisoning, but once we got TO the beach, I felt pretty good. We went to Diver's Cove, Laguna Beach. I have never been there before, but it was pretty cool! It would have made a really pretty place for a photoshoot at sunset... But it wasn't sunset time, and there was a whole day care thing there with us. I love beach towns. They just have this awesome vibe to them! It's so chill, cool breezes, tiny shops, sandy streets... I would love to stroll down those streets for hours! I love the small town feel of these little beach side towns. We met up with Micah and Danny and their kids down at the beach. I was still feeling not that great, I just slept most of the time under an umbrella: no way I was gonna get another sunburn!
After that, we got lunch, drove back to Jen's house and slept for a couple of hours. And then we went to another beach for a BBQ. We went to Oceanside beach, the one with the pier. When we got there, we found a seaside market gathering thing. It was so cool! They had all these stands set up with food, clothes, jewelry, etc. we just walked around listening to the live band and ate samples before we went back to the beach. Last time I was in California visiting my aunt and uncle, she was talking about sea water trash can corn.. Kinda strange! You get some sea water, put it in a trash can, cook it in a fire pit, and you have salted corn. I didn't get to try it because it was almost 9 before we finished it. But we had hot dogs! And then we walked down the pier at night, another thing I love. Someone caught a sting ray off of the pier night fishing. I like the night life on the beach! It's so fun! Sure, some people are scary, but I love the ocean. I hate being covered in sticky sand and water.. But I love the thought of it. :) I go back and forth actually, but if I was feeling better at the beginning of the day, I most likely would have not minded being covered in sand all day. We got home and were exhausted!!

July 20th

Still didn't want to get up today. I dunno how I'm going to adjust before school starts on Wednesday!! This summer has gone by SO fast! But it's been so worth it.
Our plans for today were to go to the Mormon Batallion and to do baptisms in the San Diego Temple! I was pumped! :D I've never been on the grounds of that temple, and I am a temple addict.. I want to visit them all! :)
First stop was the Mormon Batallion. I had learned some stuff over the years about the batallion, and my testimony of the women who were left behind was strengthened on Trek when we had the women's pull. I know of their strength, but today I got to learn a little bit more about the men and history of it all. It was the coolest thing ever!! :D I didn't know that some women and children went on the 800 mile march with the 500 men! That was neat to see. They gave accounts of some of the trail members which was pretty cool. The "museum" or whatever you want to call it was like a small journey from room to room about different parts of the march. It was really neat about how their faith was so strong and they were promised if they kept the faith, that they would not have to fight a single battle! Also, they paved and paid the way for the rest of the cart companies to make their way across to Utah. I learned a whole bunch more, and I love it there! Before our tour, they had us wait in a theater room where they showed a movie about God's plan for the family. They showed it in a different way... they followed a family over the course of probably twenty years... holy AMAZING. I sat there and cried and cried and cried. I have such a strong testimony of families, but this video brought up aspects I'd never thought of before! It said in there something like "Families are a way to show God's love for us." I never thought about it that way, but it is SO true! Ahh, just thinking about the video makes me emotional, probably because I can relate to it. I looked behind and my mom was bawling, too. We are the spiritual criers of the family. I know I cry on a regular basis. Haha it's all good.
After that we did baptisms! It's so funny how every temple is so different, but they're the same at the same time. It was the older 6 kids and Toby who went in, my mom and Jonah and Caleb had to stay behind, but I'm glad that they can see that our whole family is temple worthy and that they can strive to be like us when they get older. I'm so glad that we all have each other. I know my life would be extremely different if I had not met them and chose to get to know them on a deeper level. I'm so grateful for my family! And even though our two families aren't sealed together, I have a feeling that we will still be very close with what's next to come. :) I can't see us without them.
The rest of the day we watched Jen and Charles' kids while they went out. I just loooove her kids! They are SO funny. I have a feeling that my kids will be like that.... oh boy. ;) haha

July 21st

We headed home today. I wore a jacket all the way home because the next time I'll be able to wear one is probably in November... I loooove jackets. Last winter I refused to wear one because I wanted it to be summer, now that it's summer I want it to be cold so I wear jackets and sweaters whenever I can. I know, I'm difficult. My favorite seasons are always the ones opposite of the current one. Except for Fall. It can be Fall all the time and I'd never get sick of it. :)
I drove home for 5 of the 6 hours. My first time driving outside of Arizona! Whoo! :) It actually wasn't that bad! I was expecting it to be difficult, but it wasn't at all. I wasn't tired, either. We stopped in PINE VALLEY for a while and had lunch in their park.  We took a picture at Major's Diner, and ah man. Me and Kami were SO excited to be there! It was like a dream come true. We were looking around for all of their houses and maybe if we could find some of the actors in the movie.. we didn't have a whole bunch of time to look... but it was still really cool! :) We're such dorks.
5 hours later we got home. I had to take my jacket off. :(
Then a few hours later it started RAINING! Yesss! To celebrate, I layed down on our trampoline, closed my eyes, and let the rain soak me! It made me very happy. :) Later me and Kami were playing in it in the front yard and then just sat in the beauty of it all and talked. I'm so glad that I have her and that we can talk and goof around about everything!
It RAINED! Nothing beats that. ;)