catching up #7

JUNE

i finished my classes. they're finally done, and it feels good. here's a picture of my last religion class at byu (it's actually one more than i needed, but i needed 2 credits to have my scholarship, so i took an extra one).

juju is getting SO BIG!!! here's a picture of her before i left for nauvoo. but isn't she a cutie???

i left for tour with living legends to nauvoo, illinois. here are some of the highlights (though not in chronological order):

we were able to go to see the sights of old nauvoo. they couple missionaries there were also performing missionaries. they dressed like the early saints did and they were all so cute. this is in the site called "pioneer past times." 

 among some of the places that we were able to tour was of the property of joseph smith. here i am in front of the tombs of joseph, hyrum, and emma.

another site that i was able to go to is called the "trail of hope." it's the road that the saints would have walked to head west and there are plaques of their stories along the road. this is me and the last view of the temple they would have had. 

the commemoration of joseph and hyrum's martyrdom happened while we were there. we were able to go to carthage jail and meet with the people there to remember the prophet and what he has done for the church and for us. 

 we were able to make some new friends as well. some of them were the young performing missionaries. these missionaries were the brass band, and they were really nice, and the best audience that we had on the outdoor stage! :)

we were actually called to be missionaries in the nauvoo, il mission. this is president and sister gilliland. they were wonderful and they gave us some firesides. it was such a good experience to be in there mission and to be representing the church along with them and their missionaries. 

 this is elder and sister doman. they were our public affairs missionaries, and they took us to all of our outreaches. they became like grandparents to most of us, and they were the ones who were the hardest to say goodbye to. but they definitely took good care of us.

 the place that we stayed at. it was SUPER nice to not have to live out of our suitcases for the 2 weeks that we were there. we were able to unpack, they had food there for us, we had our own (very comfortable) beds, tvs, AIR CONDITIONING... it was great.

 thesy are dallyn and rachel bayless. he played hyrum in the joseph smith movie, he has his own album, and they've been joseph and emma in nauvoo during the pageant. they gave us a fireside before we left and it was sooooo amazing to hear them sing and hear their testimonies. this started off my tour in a good way.

when the director of the byu dance department (marilyn barrett) came to see us on tour, she was so impressed with us that she treated us to a frozen custard place called Annies. it was definitely a welcomed treat after all of our performances.

 the plane rides were tiring, but i spent both of them next to chris ah sue, here. he's in the poly section with me, and he's super funny. it was also the first time that i ever flew out of provo airport (which was really convenient... just sayin').

one of the tours took us into the red brick store, where the first endowment was done and where the relief society was organized. here's a picture of most of the girls in our group for our relief society picture in the red brick store where it started. hehe. 

 i think this is one of my favorite pictures of the group. i just think that we look great, and that the temple is beautiful behind us. don't you think so? funny story... the kid standing next to me was straddling the 2 benches and fell back twice before we were able to take this picture.

 this is us at carthage jail, when we were able to take a tour of the jail and hear the stories about the martyrdom. this was definitely one of the biggest spiritual highlights of the tour for me.

 one of the sites that you can visit is the cultural hall. on the third floor is the original dance floor that was there when the prophet joseph was there. we were able to dance on it, and it was a cool "aha" moment where i was able to relate on a more personal level with the prophet.

 we were able to go to the temple twice while we were in nauvoo. this is the second time that we went. here's a picture of all the girls who were able to do baptisms outside of the temple.

 another one of the sites is the blacksmith shop. you learn about how they did the horseshoes and the wagons, and then you get a diamond ring! there's a cute story about it, if you wanna hear it you can ask me. but here we are with our diamond rings. :)

 on the handcart trek was the only time that we were allowed to wear jeans and our own tshirts (ones that we didn't mind getting muddy... hence the brown). that is brintton (he's our stage manager), and we pulled our handcart through the most rocky and challenging parts of the trek.

 this my friends, is the poly section. hahahaha! aren't we just lovely? we're actually at a monument in quincy (where the 1500 quincy residents took in the 5000 mormons who were escaping from missour).

 here's what our outdoor stage looked like! on our first day we were able to practice and space a little bit. this is the maori section. *by the way... doing this in 100% humidity, 100 degree heat, and long tour clothes = not fun*

 we did a lot of outreaches. some of them were outside. some were in care homes. all of them i did a new auana dance and a couples hula with one of the other poly boys. these were always fun because you get to meet new people and hear funny stories (especially from the old people in the care homes). haha!

 the friends that we made with the young performing missionaries were so great. they were always so happy to see us, and they left us nice things for us like this note in our dressing room!

 as part of our tour we went on wagon and carriage rides. this is me and sharona on the wagon ride, where we got to see all the places that we would be going later on in the week. it was fun, and the horses were HUGE! 

here's the first van that i was in. we were fun and crazy, and it was kinda sad when we had to switch. but one of the reasons why this tour felt different than the other tours was because we were separated into vans when we traveled instead of all of us on a bus. that had its advantages and disadvantages.

 of course we did our full show every night. we did all 90 minutes the first week. and then the second week (because we started at 830 and because we had a lot of families with young children) we shortened our show to just one hour. but it was still so much fun. and samoa was definitely one of my favorites to do!

among the heat and the humidity, the hardest thing to get used to was the bugs. there were so many bugs, and big ones too. i'm not sure if you can see it well, but here's the outdoor stage that we performed on every night is covered. and that's how it was every night. so much so where i was dreading the slower numbers that i usually look forward to for the break they bring. not this time... ick!

overall, it was such a good learning and growing experience. it was a lot more emotional and a lot more significant to me than the other tours that i participated in. i was able to learn more about myself and try to become better, and it has made me a better person.

catching up #6

MAY

i started school again. i'm taking classes in the spring again because i was in living legends, so i had to make up some classes that i couldn't fit into my schedule before. i actually enjoyed my classes. i took my last religion class (living prophets), and 2 eled classes (drama in the eled classroom, teaching english language learners). and sometimes we have fun... can you tell what this drawing that my friend emily did is??

it's supposed to be a MONKEY! hahahahaha!

I FINALLY GOT TO GO HOME!!! :) for the first time in 2 years, i was able to return to beautiful kauai. why? because ally graduated from high school. it was so nice to be home, kind of a bummer that i got there friday and had to leave by sunday night, but it was nice to see everyone (some who i haven't seen for 3 years), to just be at home, and to be with family. congratulations ally-wally!!! :) next stop: byu I!

while we were home, we were able to take family pictures with everyone there for the first time since my graduation. this time we were able to add the additions to the family (josue, kaleb, sarah, and juju). here's one of the pictures that nt keala took.

coming back was pretty terrible. it's sad that i had to go back to class, but i finished my classes and i was able to keep busy with that!

i'll be better, i promise!

sorry that i haven't updated this in a while... AGAIN. i've just been super super busy with school and everything, and i haven't been able to have very much down time. when i do have down time, i've been trying to get to know my ward, doing my calling, or chillin with my roommates. today, however, i do have a little. so i'll fill you in on the past month... *guilty face*... and then i'll TRY to at least update my blog once a week (since i OBVIOUSLY can't be updating it every day like i used to be able to).

END OF OCTOBER

for fhe we went to the sullivan's house (the ward clerk). our activity was pumpkin carving, to get into the spirit of halloween. it was my very first time carving a pumpkin. for my first time, i must say... it was pretty good! :P this was me taking out the gunk and then the final product. isn't it cute? :) by the way, that guy in the background showing his "seafood"... that's my fhe dad. haha!

i was invited to a costume dance party by a friend in living legends. i had a test that i had to finish (and it was the same night as our parent's weekend blu'au, but i still haven't gotten pictures of it. quick story-- it was the first time that i had to perform the tahitian routine. it was a lot harder than i expected it to be, but i thought it looked pretty good! :P) and then i could go. i got help from meags at di and i found a costume so that i could dress up as one of the pink ladies from grease. what do you think? :)

one of my visiting teachees (leah) became the lead in a play, called a hundred dresses. i went with my roommates to see her performance. i thought she did a very good job. and i was happy to be able to watch her. :)

meags got to come with me to a byu football game (vs. idaho). she and sam came with me, and guess what!? meags actually stayed for the WHOLE time!!! i'm glad that they got to come with me! :) thanks meags and sam!

because i didn't have any ward activities for halloween, i helped cam and meags with their trunk or treat. the chili was ok, and a lot of the costumes of the kids were really cute, and kaleb's was especially cute (i don't have a picture of him, but you could probably just look on cam's or meags' blogs to see pictures of his ninja costume)! :P i was a peppermint stick... too bad no one understood what i was. and too bad no one decorated their trunk. that part was kinda lame...

every year, i guesss, byu hosts this even called culture of honor. they basically present the different cultures that are represented at byu to try to build awareness for the various nationalities around byu. it's funny how many more things i'm aware of because i'm in living legends. but whatever. anyway, it was just three of us, and we did our auana number because not everyone could make it (sorry the picture is so dark, my camera doesn't have a good flash). anyway, it was the smallest audience living legends has probably ever performed for. there was a total of 21 people. and 1 was dan corotan (kanani's husband). it was sad. haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!!! :) thanks for always looking out for me and making sure i'm ok. hope your birthday was a special one! :) love you brother!

NOVEMBER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELL!! :) you've got just a little more time left, keep up the good work you're doing in minnesota! take care, and be safe! love you nell!

meags got to come with me to the ces fireside. we went to listen to pres. packer. he spoke about listening. i thought it was a good reminder to listen for the spirit. :) i was happy that meags got to come with me too.

tec week = CRAZY schedule. i was at timpanogos high school on wednesday from 3-11:30p. on thursday we were there from 5:30-11:30p. friday was our first full show performance to prepare for our tour. we had to be there at 4:30, and then we went out to eat so i didn't get home until 1:30a. it was a super busy schedule, but i felt better being able to go through the full show at least 3 times before we go on tour. this is a picture after our first full show performance with one of the other dancers/friend, sharona eskeets.

11/11/11. is that crazy to anyone else but me? guess what else? i got 2 SUPER wishes. at 11:11am and 11:11pm on 11/11/11. haha. :) but more than that, i'm so grateful for the sacrifice and the courage of those who serve in the armed forces, and of course, being veteran's day, those who have served, and who gave their lives for the freedoms i enjoy today. :) god bless the usa!

it's so much fun to make new friends. some friends in particular that i'm really excited about, at least in the ward, is apt 44. :) they are trey, scott, tj, nathan, michael, and christian. i used to just know nathan and christian because they are two of the first guys in our ward who were super nice and actually took the time to get to know my name. christian invited me over to his apartment for some cake and things for his birthday. since then, i got to know the rest of them and they are really funny guys, super nice, and they are genuinely, honestly, kind, good friends. and... they're just fun to hang out with. :) *no meagan, i'm not dating them... they have girlfriends* in this picture, there's only 3 of the 6 though... scott, trey, and tj.

meags just left to go home for the rest of the year. it's crazy that it's almost another year gone by. weird... but anyways, bye meags! have fun at home for me. and enjoy the warmth! :P

now i'm just focusing on school and preparing for tour. CRAZY how fast the time has gone. i can't believe that we're going on tour this week already! school has been crazy with papers and projects and things like that. wish me luck. *sigh*

OH MY GLORY!!!

i'm sorry friends. i've been absolutely HORRIBLE at updating my blog. there's sooooooo much to update on that i've decided that i'm just gonna make one really huge post and give you updates on the big things that have happened since pioneer day! haha! i'll try to go in chronological order so that it makes more sense... and so that it's easier to find the pictures! so if you're reading this... make sure that you've got time! :)

JULY

soon after pioneer day, ally and evan went home. this was saying goodbye to them.

AUGUST

right after that, we had to move out of cam's apartment into the new apartment. this was the last picture that i took in cam's house.

then meags came up and spent some time with us. she helped us to settle in, we ran errands, etc.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! :) thank you so much for everything that you've done for me and for all of your sacrifices for all of us. love you! xoxo

but she was able to come back for kaleb's FIRST birthday celebrations! :)

i also moved into my new apartment at cinnamon tree. it's starting to feel like home but it's simple. if you wanna see more than this, i guess that just means that you have to come and visit me! :) haha!

i found a friend to help me to prepare for my auditions for living legends, and i auditioned. here are some videos from the auditioning process...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BYU-Living-Legends/87491030773

even more exciting is that I GOT IN!!! :)

SEPTEMBER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBS!! :) hope it really was a SWEET sixteen birthday. love you bubs! xoxo

i started school. now that i'm in my major, i've got a little more pressure to do well, but i'm also having the opportunity to go into the schools and to work with actual classrooms of students. most recently i've been working with students in PE. here's a badge that i get from my major that just shows how legit i am... haha! :)

we had a retreat at timp lodge for living legends to get to know each other, to introduce the expectations, to have fun, and to learn about the legacy of living legends, as well as about nauvoo, where we'll be going for our 2 week tour. i met some really cool people, and i'm always so impressed by how amazing, strong, talented friendly, and happy the people in living legends are.

the football opener was against utah. it was also j.riley's first football game! too bad we got spanked... haha!

before it started getting too cold, me and my roommate, robin, would go swimming in our swimming pool and trying to get darker. too bad my tan is already fading... but here's me and robin right after we got back from swimming! :)

my first performance for living legends was for the tongan prime minister. i only had to perform the auana dance, but i had to learn it in 3 days, which was a little bit stressful. two other girls from living legends also danced auana with me, and then the two latu girls, dan, and keoki danced tonga. then we had stephen (section leader of the native section) do a hoop dance and present a sand painting.

for different reasons, john and j.riley weren't able to come with me to 2 football games so i invited other friends to come with me. for the game against ucf i invited cam, josue, baby, and my friend alex. then for the usu game, i invited my friend derrick. both were fun... and in the case with the usu game, i rushed the field! haha! it's something to cross off my bucket list! :) i love football season!

OCTOBER

church has been going well. i just got a calling in the compassionate service committee, and i'm excited about it. lots of people in the ward don't know me, or at least they don't act like they know me. maybe it just seems that way because they all know my roommates and say hi and ignore me, but after president uchtdorf's talk, i've decided that i'm ok with it. :) still, i enjoy my ward... mostly.

my next living legends performance was for the byu law symposium. basically byu invites world leaders to utah to go to general conference, learn about the church, and get to know us (mormon kids who are in living legends). we performed the auana and samoa dances for this one. it was my first experience with costume changes. it was fun! :)

that same week i participated in homecoming spectacular. the family were able to come to see me perform. all of living legends performed the samoan section. it was fun, and it was also my first experience wearing full makeup. i didn't really like it much. but i decided that it felt like i really had a mask on. look at how much make up i had on! :P

NTK and uncle tom came up to go to general conference and go to the temple and stuff. they were able to eat dinner with us, which was really nice to be able to see family from home! :)

and now, i've most recently been working on trying to keep up with my homework, getting ready for our next performances (next week for the "blu'au" for parent's weekend, the week after for culture of honor and continuing education, the week after tech week, and the week after tour), cleaning checks, trying to get over a cold, and watching movies! :)

whew! so there's the updates! hopefully i'll be better at keeping up with my blog so that there doesn't need to be another one like this! haha.