Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Finals Week & the Vanwagoners!

Aloha!! I know I haven't exactly sent anything to you guys for the last few weeks, and the laptop is all packed up; so I don't have any way of sending those blog deals out. So here it goes! Quite a few pictures, but you'll deal with it I'm sure (;

So! You all know it was finals week this last week, but I was trying to finish up things weeks ago! And as I've studied, I've realized that I study SO much better when standing up!!...With Oreos...and milk :D


Of course, you know loads about my FHE brothers. Wonderfully awesome guys. In fact, our last week all in Rexburg? Yeah, we spent every evening with them doing something (: But Saturday, the 31st, our guys wanted to "ball it up" on the courts outside haha. So Jessi, Leah, and I went! Dang it was fun! I got tired, though, so I took a few pics before we finished (:

This is Jared on the left and Alec on the right.



And Jared again with John guarding.



Jessi has had severe tendinitis in her shoulders and isn't supposed to move them really at all haha. But she played a tad and was attempting to "softly throw" (;



And here be Jared again lol. Him and I get along really well and have become really good friends. And he's starting his papers this week for a mission! Awesome kid.



And here be Leah! Chillaxing (;



So! That was the fun part of that afternoon. Another awesome part of that evening?? Jessi's entire family came to visit! Her dad is Hispanic, and her mon is white, but dang her mom makes incredible posole!! Mmm. And enchiladas, Mexican rice, etc. Then on Sunday we all wanted to play volleyball keep-away haha. Here a few funny pictures (;




Jess dancing!



Jess and her little sis, whose name is Gidget! (She actually has two sisters and another brother, but I didn't really get any pictures of them).



We've also had 3 bonfires in our backyard in the last 3 weeks, so this is us preparing for the first one and Jessi's entire family.




Playing some guitar and ukulele over the fire (;



Most of our FHE guys joined us for the bonfire, so once the fire was gone we all went inside and Jessi's family left. Alec fell asleep on the floor, so Jarrod and Gill thought it'd be fun to dogpile him (:



Annnd this is Jarrod trying to get our turtle, Stanley, to play the ukulele haha. Worked pretty well!!



Oh yeah! And the last Monday of March, we had our ward talent show. This is my bishopric! Needless to say, they're pretty awesome :D



I have zero pictures from general conference, but I absolutely loved it. It was probably the first time I watched every single session without the struggle of falling asleep, and I got a ton of notes. So awesome. (:

And then came the last week of classes!!! I felt like I had so much to do but couldn't keep track of it all. So what do I do? What I love doing: making lists haha. Talk about organization! (;



Oh wait, wait, wait! So technically FHE was supposed to be over with after March was over, right?? Welll we missed our FHE guys. So we had another bonfire the first Monday of April (: And it was an awesome fire!! Our guys definitely learned lots as boy scouts (;



We went around the circle and told our favorite moments of the semester and embarrassing stories. We all went inside and chilled before the guys left. But before they did, Alec went to their car and got this big bag and told us it was a gift from him. Now you must know that Alec had an incredible memory; he's not exactly photographic, but it's something related to remembering all sorts of things. So the first FHE we had we were testing him haha. We exchanged phone numbers that week and then the next we surprised him with a pop quiz of asking what our numbers were...He knew every single one. So! During that first FHE, we got to know each other by our favorite movies, activities, candy, etc. Well in this bag he left for us after the bonfire was: (1) a letter to all of us, (2) a bag for each of us, and (3) a letter and candy inside each bag. Of course, out bags were all full of our favorite chocolates (mine was twix and rolos!). Then he began every letter with a quote from one of our favorite movies or a movie that fit us. My quote was from Forever Strong: "I want you to be forever strong on the field so you'll be forever strong off it."...Oy, yup. Just writing about Alec's letter is making me tear up haha. But it was absolutely incredible. We all loved it. Last, he also drew an animal for each of us haha. So this is my tiger (:



So yes! We all wanted to spend as much time with our guys as possible, so Tuesday night they all went camping at the dunes (I stayed to study). Wednesday was supposed to be a "scary movie night", but we couldn't agree on anything. So we watched Lion King after I got back from my date (ah, exciting. Yes, I know). Thursday I planned a temple trip for all of who could go and then we ate at Pizza Pie Cafe. Friday was white glove clean checks, so we cleaned ALL day! And then we were exhausted and didn't want to cook, so those of us who were left (2 guys and 4 gals) went to Costa Vida, came back to eat, and had a long night of joking/laughing/talking/etc. So fun (:

Saturday morning we all got up early, and I helped Kalie and Jess move to their new apartments. They left about 10 am, and I had the entire apartment to myself! So I went to the temple again, deep cleaned the apartment, and move out!!! Whoo! Stopped in Ririe to say bye to the Bowers and thank them for everything, and they insisted I stay for Easter dinner haha. So I stayed and we all played games and laughed a ton. I took off for Centerville, Utah about 6:30 and here I am!!

I can not explain how wonderful Kaitlyn's family has been for letting me stay here. Went to church on Sunday, had another Easter dinner, and then proceeded to do an Easter egg hunt! They all get Easter baskets with some candy and a present, which are hidden and then found via clues. Well come to find out, they had gone to buy a basket and shirt from an LDS clothing store for me. I am so grateful and thankful for their family, they are truly an incredible family. I'll have to tell you more when I get home (: But for now, I'll include this picture of their son serving in Brazil! Hahaha awesome, right?! I had to show them our cardboard Elder Lybbert, too (;



Anywho, it's been a relaxing week here at the Vanwagoner's. No worries, I'll let them know how much I appreciate this. I'm planning on leaving behind a few treats/gifts for them and a thank you note. I apologize for the absurdly long email, but I think I summed up 3 weeks pretty well (; I love you!! I'll be home soon! :D

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