Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thankful Thursday




Ok, I missed last Thursday, so I will blog today for TWO weeks!

Things I am Thankful for:

My Mission Call!!!

I am so stinking excited to go on a mission! I decided I can't start the official daily countdown until I only have one month left, but I unofficially think about it everyday! In not too long I get to preach the gospel to the wonderful people of Taiwan! I am so excited!

My Family

I am so blessed to have the family that I have. They support me in all that I do, and I am so grateful for that! My extended family is equally as wonderful.

My Friends

All through my life, I have always had the best friends! They have such a positive influence on my life, and I am grateful for all that they do for me.

My Bicycle

Ok, I don't think anyone except those who really know me understand how much I am really, truly grateful for my bike. It is the BEST temporal thing that I have!

My Twin


Eric is finally back from Africa, and though I only get to spend a couple of months with him, we are making those months really count. I am so glad that I get to spend time with him before I leave!

Stay posted for next week's Thankful Thursday post... :)

Sunday, November 01, 2009

The Catch-up Post - Africa, Utah, and Halloween


Ok friends, I have not written in a while, and a lot has happened, so this is probably going to be a REALLY LONG post. Enjoy. :)

AFRICAN SAFARI!!!

My family and I went down to Kenya to pick Eric up from his mission. While we were there, we went on Safari, and it was AMAZING! We went to Three different camps while we were there.

STOP ONE: Amboseli (South-Eastern Kenya)

Amboseli was really dry from the drought, so we probably saw just as many dead animals as live ones. It was pretty sad.

The most exciting thing we saw while we were there was a Lion attack!

Both of these lions are attacking the same Zebra, and would you believe it, the Zebra walked away without a scratch! It was unbelievable!

We also visited one of the Maasai villages while we were in Amboseli, which was really, really neat.


STOP TWO: Lewa Downs (Northern Kenya)

Lewa Downs was my favorite safari spot. It is a privately-owned Rhino Conservancy, which means two things: 1) there are TONS of animals, especially rhinos, and 2) you don't always have to be in a car - you can walk (or on occasion, run) and ride horses or camels.

Unfortunately we lost some of the pictures of the horse and camel ride, but take my word for it, it was amazing! Even in the cars, though, we got so close to the animals!


We went on a hike while we were in Lewa, and it was one of my favorite parts of the entire vacation!


STOP THREE: Maasai Mara (Southern Kenya)

The Maasai Mara is probably the most famous safari spot in Kenya, and for a good reason. It was spectacular! We saw a Cheetah kill a gazelle, a crocodile eat a wildebeest, and tons of other animals! We went during the wildebeest migration, so animals literally covered the hills. It was unbelievable!

We rode a hot air balloon while we were there, and it was the greatest experience! We did have to get up at four in the morning to get to the balloon on time, but it was absolutely worth it.


Now for the ugliest and prettiest things in Africa:

UGLIEST: The Maribu Stork


This thing is a six foot tall bird that makes you cringe just looking at it. So ugly!

PRETTIEST: The sun

The sunrises and sunsets in Kenya are absolutely stunning. I have never seen anything this beautiful before. The picture really does not do it justice at all. Wow.


Whew! That was fun! Now, since I have been home...

ROAD TRIP TO UTAH!!!

This past weekend was the BYU homecoming game against TCU, so Eric and I had to go up and see it. It was a great ride, even though it started out with a little insanity... :)

Eric and I were super excited for the game!

It was a lot of fun at the game. We met up with our friends Denise and Kenny. We have not seen either of them in a long time, so it was great to hang out with them again! Eric and I were so stoked about the game that we bought blue wigs to show our spirit.

Despite our school spirit, BYU lost miserably. Too bad.

Even though BYU lost, there is still a silver lining to this road trip. We got to visit Bart, Rebecca, Addison, and Hannah! It was so fun...



...until the swine flu hit...

Rebecca got the swine flu while we were there, and so did Baby Hannah. Eric and I spent a lot of time helping out Rebecca while she was sick. We really loved helping out, especially when it meant that we got to play with Addison!

We took Addison to the Bean Museum, which is a Taxidermy museum on BYU campus. She really liked it, but was afraid of the bats. :)

We also took her bowling. She LOVED it!

It was sad to leave, but I am so grateful I got to go visit them all. I just hope the swine flu does not catch up on me. I am on voluntary Quarantine for the next couple days just to make sure I don't get anyone sick.

Now for the last catch-up post...
HALLOWEEN!!!

This year was easily the best Halloween ever (I know, I know...I say that every year). It was so much fun to have Eric here! We had sweet costumes!

We had a strobe light in our front window and I danced in it the whole night long in my scary ghost costume. It looked really cool! Sometimes Eric chased me around, which was absolutely hilarious in the strobe light!

Most of the time, Eric hid in the bushes and jumped out to scare the teenagers or adults that were out trick-or-treating. I really think we had the bast house on the block! I can't remember the last time I had that much fun. WE laughed all night long, until we collapsed out of sheerr exhaustion. It sure beats the Halloween Rebecca rented "It's Alive."