Stolen Flamingos

This is one of those family stories that we just laugh about. And no, it is not about me, it was my little sister Emily who did this.

My family went to Utah about every other summer for the longest time. One summer we went when I was eight or so and Emily was two (actually we don't really know, everyone thinks she was a different age). We were constantly in and out of the house. Kids were playing in the yard and there were a couple of adults outside. With all the chaos, nobody kept a close enough eye on Emily.

At one point Emily wandered off to the neighbors house. When she was younger she loved the colors pink and red (still true) quite excessively and wanted everything that was one of those colors. Well, the neighbors had a collection of pink flamingos taking residence in the yard. This did not go unnoticed by Emily. She simply walked into their front yard, and stole the flamingos so that our grandma could have them instead.

A few minutes later, someone noticed the strange happenings. Two year old Emily was pulling a flamingo out of the flowerbed and dragging it through the grass to a spot where she had hidden a couple other flamingos. This was pointed out to everyone else and we laughed because it was so strange. We quickly returned the flamingos and went our merry way. This was not the end of it. There were a few times she tried to retrieve the flamingos again but we already knew what she was up to and it didn't work.

Everyone remembered this story, except Emily as she was so young. Recently when it was brought up we laughed about her stealing flamingos and she was quick to accuse other people, namely our mom of stealing the flamingos. That added another dimension, which just made us laugh all the harder. Why she picked our mom to accuse I have no idea. She was two when she did it, and it was cute, not criminal.

Oh and because this is only slightly relevant (since it is about someone other than me) I will post it here. This is another thing that happened we all laugh about. On the first day of school (or the first day of seminary) one year, while Anna was getting ready for seminary she tumbled down the stairs (very normal in our family). It was very loud though, and I remember getting out of bed to look at the scene. Apparently she had latched onto one of the spindles while she fell, resulting in her breaking it. So basically, Anna broke the stairs.

It All Started at a Sleepover

So I have a handful of stories I still want to write up here before I leave on my mission. I'll definitely try to do that. Here is the first of the lineup.

Generally speaking with girls that means a crazy night full of gossip, boys, and girlie things. This party was no exception. There were three girls, me, Abby Anderson and Courtney Carter. I can definitely be crazy, but I have to work my way up to it. These two girls are downright crazy, especially with all the crazy feeding off each other.

After settling in, we three chatted up a storm. Courtney filled us in on a boy she had gone on a date with, who was going to call during the sleepover. We were all giddy with excitement. A boy?! During the sleepover!! Duh she would put him on speakerphone.

As our excitement increased, Courtney realized she didn't want to talk for very long, she would rather spend time with us. Thus a plan was formed. Courtney would give a signal when she was ready to stop talking and we would pretend to slam my finger in a door, causing an emergency where she was needed and would have to hang up.

It was a good plan, however it was not good enough. It had to be more realistic. We found a strand of cheap beads to slam in the door so the door wouldn't completely shut and sound closer to a finger stuck in the door. Even that wasn't good enough. We decided to make my finger look the part as well. We applied marker and smudged it around until it looked bruised, though not swollen. Then we took pictures on Courtney's phone so we could send a picture in case he questioned anything.

When he called we did everything as planned. He didn't question anything (to my knowledge), Courtney got off the phone quickly, and we had an enjoyable evening. It was such a random thing to do (and kind of unnecessary) but it definitely made the sleepover memorable.

The Beanie Baby Cat Ladies

One of these days I'll end up as an old spinster with nobody to keep me company except my many cats. This sentiment has become a joke among some of my friends, namely Anna, Kaitlyn, Hannah and Kara. It started one time when Anna and I were with our grandparents for the weekend, fourth Sunday dinner. On Saturdays we're the only ones there but by Sunday evening the rest of our family arrives and all the excitement begins. We have to fend for ourselves for entertainment before anyone arrives, luckily we're good at that.

On this specific day, I stole Anna's phone (with her knowledge) and was texting Kaitlyn really ridiculous things which were definitely out of character for Anna. For some reason, Kaitlyn had no idea. I told Kaitlyn how Anna was going to live alone forever as a cat lady. Anna added to the conversation when she said, "I'm going to buy cat beanie babies because I'm allergic." We were already lying down on the floor (granted, when I lie on the floor, I tend to go crazy so it all added to the excitement) so that easily enabled me to roll on the floor and laugh until I cried (not unusual for me). Now it's pretty much an exclusive group, the Beanie Baby cat ladies.

About a month before last semester ended I had a strange dream. I came home and my friend Hannah hid two kittens in my apartment. I found them and was really surprised that my friend would give me kittens. The next morning I told Hannah about my funny dream. To me the dream meant something along the lines of, my friend randomly gave me a kitten which is awesome and cute. Hannah's immediate response was something different. She interpreted it as her enabling me to become an old cat lady, which she said she did not want for me. I guess even my subconscious is telling me I'll be a spinster cat lady one day.

I hope that all these funny pictures make all who read this laugh. Otherwise I don't think we can be friends.

Summer Quotes

Random texts I got from a girl I don't know.

Congratulationsssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!
Way to go! You're awesome :)

The girl somehow responded to everyone who received a mass text from a different friend. It wasn't clear that was how she got my number until I asked after the second one. It was awesome getting those random texts though, it made my day.

"There are no special effects, except the toilet flushing." -Beth
"Right or left?" -Beverly
"Doesn't matter." -Ronnie
Beverly goes left.
"I would have gone the other way." -Ronnie
"You were directing us!!!" -Laura

"That giant bird just cut in front of us!" -Beth

"Those are the buffest twelve year olds I've seen in my life." -Beth

"I love a good beard." -Beth

At work: "Yes we had a conference call about your inability to participate in contests." -Andy (my coworker is still technically from a temp company)

"Sorry my knees are really long." -Beth
"Your knees or your legs?" -Laura

"He didn't mind growing up to look like Santa Claus." -Beverly

All of the things from Gettysburg:

The names Ethan was called by various people: Larry, Ian, Theenuh

"Take a gander..." -Ethan

"Gander? hahahah" -Me

"I'm sorry that not everyone uses the word gander in the vernacular." -Ethan

"Vernacular? hahahah" -Me

"I give up!" -Ethan

"I reckon..." -Ethan
"Reckon? hahaha" -Laura

"Hot dang!" -Ethan

"There's something in that tree." -Laura

"It could be a kite or a beach ball... or a small child." -Ethan

"A beach ball? Who brings a beach ball to Gettysburg and gets it stuck in a tree?" -Laura

"Are you a jumping bean?" -Laura

"If I were to be a legume..." -Ethan

"You do not have talons!" -Matt to Ronnie

"You can touch her!" -Laura to Spencer

"Somebody stole my unicycle in Hawaii!" -Ethan

"Hey Luke... uh I mean Matt..." -Laura
"And how do you know my brother?"

Apparently I reference a lot of unexpected things, or say things my friends wouldn't have expected me to say...
"Blithering Idiot!"
"Brother from another mother!"
"I will cut you!"
"Nope... Chuck Testa!"

Post Gettysburg:

Creepily: "I've never been down that hallway before..." -Laura

"I called in sick at work. I've got a fever... dance fever!" -Matt

How Long Has That Food Been In Your Purse?

"Is that a stromboli in your purse?" -Andy my coworker

Yes, yes it is. On the third Wednesday of the month all of my work gets lunch from somewhere around the area. In June, I got a stromboli and stuck it in my purse when I was about to leave. It was kind of funny because he thought I just left it in there the whole day.

This reminded me of a similar incident. The same day a bunch of friends and I went to Macey's to get King Kong Kones I decided to grab cream cheese for something I planned on making. Then we all tried to do the moonwalk around Macey's. We then went to Kaitlyn and Hannah's to watch the Mormon Pride and Prejudice. I think we even fell asleep on their floor for a couple hours.

The next day Kara and I were hanging out. We got kind of bored. When Anna came home from work we decided to get haircuts because that was something exciting. Kara just watched. When I went to pay I pulled out my wallet and noticed the cream cheese boxes in there. I looked at Kara, laughing, and I asked her if she wanted to hear a funny story. Because Kara is a cheater, she looked in my purse while I got my hair cut and had already discovered it. It made me laugh so hard. Then later we used it for a frosting a cake. I mean it was already softened...?

Pennsylvania at a Glance

This is just a list of everything I've done, just for my own sake.

• Week One- An introduction to the area, and I went to the ghetto mall by my hotel.
• Week Two- The vice-president of my company came, and West Virginia trip.
• Week Three- My mission call! Memorial Day barbecue, and cleaning the girl scout camp.
• Week Four- Break the fast at the New Oxford building, then my New York trip!
• Week Five- Party with Hershey ward ladies, start of my acid degree value testing, Romeo and Juliet in the park, and the Walk for Autism.
• Week Six- Hershey museum, YSA barbecue in the park, and the DC temple.
• Week Seven- The infamous rolls incident at Texas Roadhouse, City Island with Ivan, Drive in movie and the beach.
• Week Eight- Trip to Lancaster County, and Ronnie's house for a pool party.
• Week Nine- John Bankert's birthday party at Ronnie's, RS swim dessert party, and our overnight Palmyra trip.
• Week Ten- Making cookie dough brownies with Beth, I gave away a Book of Mormon, and the Philadelphia trip.
• Week Eleven- Murder in the dark with our super late night, cupcakes with Ethan, and the Gettysburg conference.
• Week Twelve- Frisbee golf, watching the Olympics, book club pool party, pizza with Beth, and more Olympics.
• Week Thirteen- Swimming, my family came to visit me, Hershey Park, skydiving, and the Sister Surprise.
• Week Fourteen- Dinner at Beth's with Ethan, Matt, and Emma, dinner at Ethan's house, my going away swim party, and my flight home!

So this list is kind of crazy. I did a lot of things... A lot. I look back on it and think that it is amazing I fit all of this in. But then, there were some times I was bored and thought about the time I still had left.

All I can say now is that I am so glad for this summer. It was probably the best summer I've ever had. It was so much fun, and I did a lot of things I have wanted to do for awhile. Living in PA has allowed me to do a lot of traveling which is one thing I don't do enough of. It will be interesting at home for the next six weeks without the amount of activities, I will surely get bored. Anyway, that's it!

Week Fourteen

L-R Ethan, Emma, Matt

On Sunday, I gave the Relief Society lesson for my last week. They are just so nice assigning it as my going away present! After a nap, I went to Beth's to make dinner. We were both talking to various friends and decided to invite them over. Ethan, Matt and Emma came over and we had spaghetti. We played Phase 10 and chatted for awhile. Towards the end of the game we were less enthusiastic, nobody knew whose turn it was, and a couple people forgot which phase they were on. The best was when Matt rolled on the ground and said that he forfeited. Luckily we only had one round left and Emma won. We decided that we would hang out until midnight and then make a frosty run. While we waited, we watched youtube videos, especially a lot of Divine Comedy ones. At Wendy’s, we were very disappointed because they ran out of chocolate! How on earth does that happen?

Monday I hung out with Beth. She was sad because she didn’t come the night before for frostys, since it was so late, so I went and got one with her. At least they had chocolate.

On Tuesday, it was my last Institute. It was actually pretty sad because it was also Ivan’s last one as well. He is such a big part of the activities here, it will be quite different without him. There was a group that went to Outback after as a last hurrah. I came a little bit late, and that meant that I got to sit on the outsider table. But it was alright because we had a couple people order their fries which come covered in cheese and bacon, and they were nice enough to share.

Wednesday I went to Ethan’s house and we made dinner—enchiladas and Spanish rice in very huge quantities for his whole family. Then we walked around to work off some of our massive dinner. We made brownies and watched the movie Encino Man.

Thursday was my last day at work. They brought doughnuts in celebration and I got to say goodbye to everyone. After work, I went to Beth’s apartment and we talked for awhile. Then Ethan came, and the three of us headed out to the store to buy food for my going away swim party.  We bought lots of chips, sodas and cookies. We went swimming for a couple hours and generally had a good time. Eventually we got out and talked around the fire pit. There were some funny stories , and we were all laughing. All in all, it was one good last night in Pennsylvania.

On Friday I went to Beth’s house very early in the morning to give back some of her stuff. Then I sat in the airport for a very long time, both before my flight and during my layover. It took longer to fly than it does to drive so that was ridiculous.

IT'S OVER!

Now what? I’m getting ready for my mission, and a couple friends will come see me one weekend! Other than that I don’t have anything else until I go. And this blog will be less exciting for awhile. I may even make a different one for my mission, I'll keep everyone posted if/when that happens.