Days 58-65

Lovat; A greyish blend of colors, esp. green, used in textiles, as for plaids.

(I just saw that on the dictionary website and thought it was cool... haha)

Holy moley i have been such a slacker blogger!!! Why? Becasue i forget. And when i remember... i am too busy. haha! Well i am going to write down little moments i remeber from this past week!

We went and saw the famous tree in Rockefeller Center! WOW! It is so amazingly ginormous! And absolutely stunning!!! And there were SO MANY PEOPLE! It was a madhouse! haha! But man. The city at Christmastime is everything the movies make it out to be! So happy and crazy and noisy and exciting! I was in love! I adore the holidays in general, but this was such a special treat! I went with Liz and Anna, it was such a good time to bond with them, especially Liz! (Anna fell asleep in her stroller RIGHT before we got to the tree... bummer.) I am really starting to develop a love for this family! Its such a blessing i got the opportunity to serve them. Really, each one of them is an amazing person!

Liz decided she wanted to use a new purse, so she gave me hers..... aaaaahhhh! Its a Steve Madden bag, (who is a big deal around here.. ha) and i'm reallll excited. I love it. I cleaned out my other bag, and left it laying around on the bed, and Ava found it... :) She is so stinkin cute.

I went to institute last week, and let me tell you what.... that Brother Anderson is an inspired man. Even now, just remembering the lesson just fills me up with so much love. Love for the gospel, love for my Savior, love for everyone really. We studied D&C 29-35. I was so touched. And just the way he taught it, was so powerful. I am not going to miss another instute while i am here!

I got a membership to the NYSC, (the New York Sporting Club) now i just need to start using it! I am going to be so fit, just you wait and see!!!! haha!

I think Anna is a little confused about the way she feels about having me around... she LOVES her parents, (obviously) and i think she is starting to like me too, but she doesn't want to at all... does that make sense? And so she will rebel, and say things that i really hate to hear, but i just have to realize how she must feel. But i hate it! I just want her to know that i am in NO WAY trying to replace her parents, i just more want to be her friend and protector, know what i mean?? But how do you get that across to a 4 year old? Any advice is welcome. haha.

So much is going on at home, and i am so close to coming, its hard to focus on anything else!!! I can't wait to be with my own family! Oh how i miss them. haha! Only 9 more days from today! Woot! I am still nervous to fly by myself. Just a little fact about me. lol.

I love food. And i love to eat. I have a hard time staying away from sweets. haha! That has been on my mind a lot lately. I need to stop. hahaha!

I really do love Anna and Ava.

I promise to you now, i will make more of an effort to blog more frequently! Like i did in the beginning. Man, i was GOOD.

Days 53-58:

Thanksgiving; A day set apart for giving thanks to God.

Days 53-55

All alone in the house. The first night was a little scary, but i got over it! haha! Thanksgiving day was good! I was really having a hard time not being with my family. This was my first Thanksgiving away from home.. :( I got to skype my family that day though, even got to talk to grandma Clark, and Tiny! haha! I love her! I used to hate it, but now i love hearing her call me Petunie! :) I was so jealous they were all together, and i am 234945201-ish miles away! ha! But i get what i signed up for, and it was yet another learning experience for me! The Anderson family were so sweet to let me come over and spend Thanksgiving dinner at their house! It was so nice, and so fun! Dinner was super tasty, and games after dinner were extremely fun! It was just a good time! I loved it! They really do remind me of my family in UT. :) The only downer was it was Ciera's last day in NY. :( But i will see her when i come home for Christmas! Yay! So after dinner and games, i went home and went to bed!

The rest of the weekend flew by. I was seriously the biggest loser! haha! I went and saw the movie Tangled, which is SO CUTE!!!! OH my glory, i love it! I want a fairy tale story like that for my life!! haha! I went to a local bakery, which was super impressive, and got a cupcake and hot chocolate,,,, by myself. ha! I cleaned up around the house a bit.... i did some laundry.... umm.... i did some shopping here and there, nothin too big though! And....... yup, that was about it! lol!

56:

Sunday. The family got back late last night/early this morning, so it was nice to wake up to some noise! haha! They had a good time in chilly Rochester for Thanksgiving, so that is good! :) I went to church and came home. Ate dinner with the family, and skyped my real family! haha! I love Skype!!! Love love love love. I always feel lots better after i skype. Very thankful for skype this holiday season! ha!

57&58:

Back to the normal routine! :) School, naps, lunch, snacks, playing! Woot!

in honor of Thanksgiving tomorrow....

i am making a list. of things i am grateful for. :)

so Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

*i am grateful for my family.

dad, mom, ashley, alyssa, and blake. i am so glad to know that i will be with you guys forever. that we were sealed an eternal family. i am so grateful for all the lessons each of you have taught me in these 19 years. i most definitely wouldn't be the person i am today if it wasn't for all of you. thanks for all the memories,, namely, "shoop", "big george", "bubble", "awkward sweats halloween costumes..." and many many many more! i love you guys.

*i am grateful for my friends.

i have too many important people to name them all, but you know who you are. again, i wouldn't be the same person without the examples of my friends.

*i am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
i am but one soul among many, but my Father in Heaven knows me by name, and cares about me. i have felt that love, and it is immeasurable. what an honor. i am so grateful for the privilege of being able to communicate with Him through prayer whenever i need, and also to have the scriptures to learn and progress every single day. not to mention the companionship of the Holy Ghost. i am so blessed.

*i am grateful for my home.

the lovely utah.

*i am grateful for my world.

lemme list some of the things in the world that i love.

flowers, trees, wind, rain, snow, buildings, air, rainbows, clouds, colors, leaves, parks, water.
just to name a few.

*i am grateful for food.

first of all, my favs are claussen dill pickles, and cupcakes.

but i really love food. every little bit.

my stomach really appreciates it too. oh, and my tongue.

but mostly my tongue.

*i am grateful for clothes.

i would be really cold without the warmth of clothing, and really fried without the protection it provides.

plus you give me a reason to go shopping.

just sayin.

*i am grateful for anna and ava.

these two little angels have already taught me some of life's most important lessons.

with so many more to go.

can't wait.

*i am grateful for technology.

the newest forms of communication.

and the best ones yet.
i would be awfully lonely and bored without you.

*i am grateful for this country.

god bless the USA. and those who are still loyally fighting for our freedom and liberty.

i am so grateful to have the ability to choose who and what i want to be.

Days 48-53:

Anticipation; Expectation or hope.

48&49:

I gotta be completely honest,,, i don't even remember what went down these days! haha! Thats what i get for not being a faithful blogger! Shoot. Well i will try and do better especially with the holidays coming up! :)

50:

Its Saturday! I wasn't exactly sure what to do in the morning/day time... so Liz suggested walking down to see the town and the cute little shops, AND the weekly farmers market! So i did! I don't think i have ever actually been to a legit farmers market, it was amazing! They sold everything from spices to bizarre vegetables to fresh donuts! Awesome. I totally would've bought a donut if i had cash on me.... haha. So i continued my walk and checked out all the little shops, they are so cute, and friendly, but a little pricey! lol! I even went into the local antique shop, because it reminded me of my mom! :) I didn't realize how far of a walk it actually was... and to get to all those places was allll downhill. So the going back home part was a bit challenging! I definitely got my work-out for the day! haha! When i got home i took a nap and Liz asked if i wanted to join her in going to the Weschester Mall! Of course i accepted because i have been hearing about this mall for forever!!! And it was just as amazing as everyone said it was! It was HUGE, and there were so many designer shops, and cute affordable stores, it seriously was the most high class mall i have seen! After the shopping ended, Liz dropped me off at a movie theater in White Plains to meet up with Spencer, Ciera, Benjamin (Ciera's boyfriend), Dimples, and the whole Anderson crew! :) We went to HARRY POTTER!!! The movie was amazing, like all the others, but i just want to see Part 2 right now!!!! Ugh! haha! After the flick, we went home, and off to bed.

51:

Today was Ciera's last Sunday here. :( In sacrament, her and Graham sang a duet, Amazing Grace! They did a fantastic job!!! It was absolutely beautiful! I could only stay for sacrament, because i was starting to get dizzy, and Liz needed help with a project. After helping, and a much needed nap, i went over to the Anderson's house for dinner! They are the most amazing family! Dinner was so tasty, and afterwards we played some SUPER fun games!!! It was a good evening! :)

52:

School, naps, food, playing, e-mails, and Spongebob Squarepants. That is about all that happened this day. haha!

53:

For some reason, today was harder than most. I have been listening to some of my favorite Christmas songs, and to be honest i just want to be home right now. I imagine that is normal, and really everything here is so amazing, there is just no place like home. Especially for the holidays! And i realized this will be my first Thanksgiving away from home. :( I am so sad. Baaaahhh. But while i am in New York, i am going to make the best of it, and make memories i wouldn't have had! The actual day was long, but good! I missed FHE, cause Lizjosh came home later than expected, but thats just life, right? Hmmm. Smile. :)

special.

i decided i am going to start these new 'special.' posts for my favorite moments, pictures, or memories. starting now....

anna likes to do projects. today i was sitting in my room while ava was sleeping, and she said,, "surprise!!" she brought in a folded piece of paper, that she had colored on, and she told me she made it for me. :) i asked her what it was, and she said,

heaven.

Day 47:

To be completely honest,,, today was so boring! haha! I need to come up with a few new things to spice up the days!! Its so hard though, cause everything i want to do is outside, but the weather is only getting colder, so that doesn't work out!! Dang it all. I need to do some research on how to entertain children. haha! I did run a mile while Ava was sleeping... woot! haha! Anna got a few new toys from her cousins, so she had fun playing with those toys alllll day! haha! Really, i wish i had something thrilling to report,,, but...... i don't! hahaha! I went to bed early.... pahaha! :)

Days 45 & 46:

Personality; The visible aspect of one's character as it impresses others.

Day 45:

Okay, first off i have to tell you the phrase Anna was saying all day, and it cracked me up EVERY time!! She would make her voice all deep and sensual-like and she said, "Ladies, lets change up our night." hahahahaha! I have no clue where she got it from, she said she made i up,,,, i dunno if i believe that, but its funny, huh?? I actually took a video of it,, i'll try and post it! So, anyway, this morning i was sooo stinkin tired! Like every chance i got to close my eyes for a couple seconds was a blessing! But that went away as the day progressed! There was no school again, so Marta and i set up a play-date for Anna and Lizzie! They were over here for a couple hours, so that was a nice time killer! haha! The rest of the day was pretty average! Except for Anna's line,,, seriously, that was the best.

Day 46:

There was school again today! Halellujah! haha! Aparently last night was a tough one for the girls, so they were both a little cranky, and tired, i could tell! Ava slept pretty well for her naps, so that was good! And even Anna took a multiple hour nap! Whew! Poor girls! Liz came home early, because she wasn't feeling well, so we all had a good time talking and playing! Ava is developing a huge personality! She is already pretending to talk on the phone, and she will spit at you, and laugh soooo hard if you make a face! haha! Its sooo cute. Tonight was FHE, karaoke night! But only me, ciera, spencer and dimples showed up... hahaha! We sang a few songs, and decided to pack up and go to spencer's house and watch the movie Grown Ups! Freak, that is a hilarious movie!!! Honestly i love it. But of course i was out too late, and got home around 11:30... poop. haha! So i said my prayers, and went to bed!!

Days 40, 41, 42, 43 & 44:

Ooops. Sorry this post is so late! My bad!

Ooookay, sorry if i don't remember much, its been a doosey. haha!

Day 40;

The longest day of my life so far. And that is not an exaggeration. haha! Yes, it was long, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad! Today Lizjosh had their date night, so i was watching the girls a little later than usual! And really it was only 2 and a half hours extra! Nbd. The day went as ususal, school, play, naps, eating. Ya know, the routine! For dinner Anna got a super kids meal from McD's! Lucky little sucker! haha! jk! I don't miss fast food one bit. Yuck! We picked up a Tinkerbell movie from the Redbox, for Anna to watch after dinner! She just soaked it up!! And she has been talking about fairies ever since! haha! :) I was so tired when they got home, i just went right to bed, and didn't wake up until......

Day 41;

WAAHHHHHH. That is my impression of the foghorn. haha! It went off around 5:15, and woke me up. This wouldn't be a problem if i could've fallen asleep afterwards, but.... it just didn't happen. Poopy. (I know this would've been a perfect opportunity to write on my blog,,, but i was toooo lazy.) haha! Today Josh didn't have work, and Anna didn't have school because it is Veterans day! Holla! So Josh was in and out of the house in the morning, fixing stuff, and all that jazz! Then in the afternoon, he decided he wanted to take Anna into the city and go to the Metropolitan museum! Lucky little stinker, right?? haha! So they left, and it was just me and Ava! I love this little girl! She is the cutest little one year old in the world! She has been so happy and giggly lately! Soooo darling! So Liz, Anna and Josh, all rode the same train home, so they arrived at the same time. And the rest is history! haha!

Day 42;

Another BEAUTIFUL Friday! Seriously, the weather shouldn't be this nice in November! Like low 60's! baaahhh! That is my kind of weather! So, after school, all the mom's of the kids in Anna's class decided to go let the kids play at the park right after school because of the nice weather! Genius idea! So they played and played! I thought this would be an opportune moment to catch up with my sister Ashley... another genius idea! :) haha! That was one of the best chats i have ever had. haha! Oh how i miss our sisterly bonding! After the park we went home and continued the day as usual... i really wish i could remember what we did after that... but i don't! haha! Sorrrrry.

Day 43:

A day for me! And what a glorious day it was!!! :) I went to the store, got a few things, such as gloves and tights, just preparing for the winter! haha! And then i went to Manor Park and layed out on some rocks and soaked in the sun. I probably looked like some homeless gal, but i didn't mind! haha! It felt sooo amazing! When i decided it was time to leave, i went home and fell asleep! haha! Yup, definitely getting sick! I slept for 3 hours!! haha! Then it was dinner time, and Liz made this 'left-over soup'! Ooooooh snap it was tasty! haha! She is soooo good at cooking, its ridic! :)

Day 44;

Basically what i want to say about this day is... 1. I love Sundays. 2. I love the Church. 3. I freaking love Ciera, and i am so sad she is leaving. But so happy for her at the same time! 4. I think the Anderson family is one of the best in the world. And Mrs. Anderson, is right up there in the best cooks as well! 5. I miss my family a lot, and love them with all my heart. Yup, that about wraps it up! haha! :)

Day 39:

Clean; Free from dirt; Unsoiled; Unstained.

Pretty average day. The cleaning lady came today though! Her first time cleaning the house, and she was here for like 5 hours!!! She was extremely thorough, and did a fantastic job! Everything is spotless! I think she is a keeper! And so does Liz i think... haha! The only thing she forgot was the downstairs room.... oops! Honest mistake. I am sure she will do it next time! :) Anna took a 2 hour nap today as well, which is unusual, but it was probably needed! Good for her! haha! Ava has been such a happy little baby these last couple of days! I am loving it! She loves when i get down and roll around the floor with her,, she will laugh for hours about it! haha! Aaaadorable. Anna was snack person at school, which is her FAVORITE thing,, because the snack person gets to stand in line first, and just gets all sorts of privileges, so she likes the attention. :) I learned something new the other day,, i learned what kosher food is, and why its called that! I had no idea! So, the crops are blessed by a jewish leader... Rabbi i think... shoot i dunno,,, but anyway that makes it kosher, and that is the sacred food the jewish eat! Cool, eh?? Anyway,, nothing toooo thrilling happened today, but i have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a loooong day. Its Liz's birthday, and Josh is taking her out to a fancy dinner! So i am babysitting the gals in the night too! I am actually kind of excited! I will try my absolute hardest to make it just a good time! :) We will seee!

Days 37 & 38:

Opposite; Contrary or radically different in some respect common to both.

37-

Its the big BIRTHDAY DAY!!! All morning was spent getting ready for the event! Cleaning, preparing the food, arranging the decorations! It was insane, and Liz did such an incredible job! It was one of the classiest parties i have ever seen! And adorable at the same time! And the food..... THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD! They had these pastas and chicken entrees catered in, and 4 different cakes! Two of which were made by Bubby and GG, the famous Lawlor recipes! The first was sponge cake, which was literally the spongiest (is that a word...?? ha) cake i have ever eaten! Like, it was the mother of all sponge cakes! And also the special pumpkin chocolate chip cake! Really, it was delectable! I can understand why it was Lizjosh's wedding cake!!! haha! So lots of Anna's friends came with their parents! There was socializing, eating, running around, crazy time! But super exciting! They don't throw this kind of party in Utah! It was realllllly classy! I didn't go to church, because church and the party started around the same time.. so i decided i would support Liz in her birthday celebration, and go to the CES fireside later in the night! And thats exactly what i did! The fireside started at 7:30, and it was really good! Those things are really cool, because they are targeted at my age group, and so there is a lot of helpful insight given! :) It was great! haha, there were also refreshments ther,,, like i hadn't had enough sugar for one day... haha! And i think all that sugar got to me,,, and Ciera! We were running around the house like freaks! haha! But it was a good time! I will miss her so much!!! :( After, me, ciera, spencer and dimples decided we wanted to go to Manor Park, and hang out for a bit! So we did, and it was sooooo cold! But fun nonetheless. :) Twas a crazy, good day.

38-

Well.... the house is empty.... and its a rainy, cloudy day..... haha! Talk about a change! Everything went from insane to really dull. lol! But its all good! Turns out is wasn't even a gloomy day at all! Daylight Savings was on Sunday.. so the sun rose really early,,, (not that we could even tell, the clouds were covering it) and set really early as well! Like i swear it was sunset at like 3:30! haha! Weird! But yeah, after school Anna had a play-date with Rachel her friend from her old daycare! So that was way fun, and made time go by sooooo fast! We got home, played around for a while, and then Lizjosh came home, and that was that! lol! :) But i do have to mention,,, I LOVE MODAYS! haha. Because a certain e-mail comes.... haha! And if you know what i am talking about, you will understand, if you don't, don't worry about it! :)

Day 36:

Mesmerized; To be spellbound, to be fascinated.

Saturday November 6th, 2010. A day to remember! I love going into the city!!! Every time, without fail, i am sooooo captivated. Its such a rush! I get so breathless! And i can't help but giggle. I am getting excited just thinking about it now! And now the Rockettes!!! They are perfect!!! They are seriously so flawless. Watching them made me want to dance so bad! haha! I am seriously thinking about enrolling in an adult dance class. Anyway, it was their Christmas Spectacular, and WOW! I want Christmas to happen now! Haha! I was tearing up the whole time! Especially when they did the nativity. Gahhh. It was so amazing. Words can't even explain it! And that was really the biggest part of the day,,, with traveling and all that added, it took about 5 hours! We also picked up some more cupcakes from Crumbs.... mouth-watering. I got the pumpkin one this time,,, and it was freaking good. FREAKING GOOD. We had chinese for dinner, and went to bed. :)

Day 35:

Family; A basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.

Bbbbaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Whew. What a super exciting day! Basically the actual day was pretty average, everything went as scheduled. Anna was in one of the funniest moods i have ever seen her in all day. She would laugh at everything, and she was running around like a mad-woman! haha! I am pretty sure she was just expressing her inner excitement for the family coming tonight! Again no play-dates were arranged, so we just played around in the house, which is actually really fun! But as the sun went down we were all anxious for everyone to come! Liz's sister Jen and her family got here like 5 minutes befor Lizjosh did, so it went from quiet to insane!!! Introductions were made, and presents were brought in, Liz started dinner, Ava was freaking out, Anna and Emily and Sophie started running around playing games, the adults pulled out the wine,, haha! Definitely crazy. Liz and Jen are the cutest sisters! They just talked and laughed, and exchanged gifts. You can tell they have been really close their whole lives. And seeing all of this made me want to be with my family soooo bad. Glory how i miss all our family gatherings! Even just the small immediate family sunday night get-togethers. But imagine how special Christmas will be!!! :) Anyway, so dinner was phenomenal! She got these turkey breasts from costco that were already seasoned, (and seasoned well.. haha) and she made 'smashed' potatoes (their uncle frank called them that), and garlic green beans, and delicious french bread! It was sooooo stinkin good! After dinner Liz made chocolate/peanut butter fondou,,,, divine. Thats all i have to say about it. hahah! It was a good night! I can't even wait for the show tomorrow! Yay! :)

Days 33 & 34:

Occupy; To engage or employ the mind.

My oh my. How these two days have flown by!

Day 33:

Everyone woke up late again... must be something in the water. haha! Today was just another normal routine day! First school, then lunch and playing around! No play-dates were arranged, so it was just me and the girls and our imaginations! Everyone is feeling the excitement in the air with the big party coming up this weekend! That was about it for today!

Day 34:

Liz is staying home alllll day today! At first i was almost a little nervous, but i know that i am doin what i am supposed to, so no worries! Turns out i LOVED having Liz there! Seriously, she is a hoot! I laughed so hard i had tears like twice! It was awesome! haha! After she dropped Anna off at school we went to costco to get food for this weekend! Holy moley, that costco is HUGE! Two stories. Literally. And it had everything! This thing made the Provo Sams Club look like a Wal-Mart. hahaha! It was crazy! And we got a loooooot of food! Lemme tell you something, Liz surrrrre knows how to throw a party! Wow! She made flower arrangements, she is getting two cakes (plus Bubby is bringing the FAMOUS pumpkin chocolate chip cake that i am dying to try!), and she got mounds of food! Oh, and the dining room looks like it came strait out of a magazine! I mean it too! She is one talented lady! Okay anyway, so after costco (Oh by the way, it was the absolute worst day to go shopping, cause it was not only icy cold, but constantly raining as well! Brrrr.) we were a little late to pick up Anna.. oops! Anna forgave us though, because she was happy that her mom picked her up! So we went back home, had lunch, and Liz started decorating, and i played around with the girls! haha! Funniest thing. So Liz gave Anna a little rose, and i guess Anna was inspired by it and she wanted to play 'wedding'. haha! And guess who be the 'handsome young man'?? Me of course! lol! And she was my 'beautiful bride'! And we danced the night away! :) She was soooo funny when she was dancing, she had this serious look on her face, and she was immitating legit ballroom dancers, oh man, i wish you could have been there! I was cracking up! She even went down for the dip and she said,,, completely serious with her eyes closed... "kiss me." pahahaha! So i kissed her cheek, and we kept dancin! DArling! When Liz was done decorating she decided she needed a few more things and so we all went to Marshalls! Apparently this was a bad idea on my part... because i spent money.... but they had such good brands, and cute things, and amazing prices,,, baaahhhh! Shopping is my drug. lol! But that was still a good time! Anyway... we went back home, and Liz got workin on dinner. We were all pooped, cause shopping will do that to you... lol! But oh well, it was a remarkably fun day! haha! Oh yeah, and Liz has like 4 job interviews tomorrow, crazy eh?? She asked me to blow dry and straighten her hair for them! Sweet huh?? I was so excited! She has gorgeous dark curly hair, and i was so excited to help her with that! Not to mention i was way flattered she would even ask! And oh my glory, her hair is so pretty and healthy, and long!!! I love it curly, (and i am jealous, i wish my hair would naturally curl in ringlets... haha) but it was so fun to see it strait and silky! She looks stunning! :D After that was all taken care of, i went to institute! It was amazing again, of course, i LOVE Brother Anderson, he cares SO much about what he is teaching us! AND he manages to be absolutely hilarious! Just he way he talks cracks me up! haha! So that was awesome! I am realllly learning to love everyone in the ward a lot!! Beautiful! haha! So,, my day was so exhausting, but worth every minute! :)

Day 32:

Darling; Very dear, dearly loved.

The Lawlors have officially turned the heat on in the house! That is probably why i over-slept a bit.... that and i forgot to set my alarm. Oops. hahaha! Oh well, i still was up and ready before Josh came downstairs to make his coffee! The morning routine went as usual, we were rushing to get out the door on time for school,, but of course we made it, no sweat! The people at the WJC are so nice,, and i love talking to Anna's teachers because their New York accents are soooo thick, it is legit. haha! Now, the thing that really kept me going today was what Anna said to me when i picked her up from school. First, she grabbed my hand. She was jumping and skipping the whole time! Then she looked up at me with this big grin on her face and she said,

Sarah, i am so gald i don't have a play-date today.

I asked, "Why??" and she said,

Because i like staying and playing with you better.

My heart did a little skip. How sweet. :) I love litte Anna!!! Suddenly i felt so bad for ever getting somewhat annoyed with her! Man, that was the highlight of my week. Needless to say, we played fun random games... all day! haha! Even at the park, she stuck by me, and we played 'toddler anna, and big girl'! hahaha! Whoop whoop. And that is what it is all about! So, this weekend Liz's sister Jennifer and her daughters Sophie and Emily are coming over for the big party! And on Saturday we are having a girls day out! And today i found out what we are doing...... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I AM SO EXCITED. We are going to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my glory, i am so stoked. Its ridic. haha! I am doing things i only dreamed about in lil ole Utah! haha! Don't get me wrong, i love Utah, it is home... But i am sooooo grateful to be able to do these things here! How sweet is that!? Mmmhmmmm. :)

Day 31:

Easy; Requiring no great effort or labor.

Monday,,, :) First off, i'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to my boy Scott Alanis! Happy Birthday daddy! Its not every day you turn 46, and still look as good as you do. :) haha! So,, today was a piece of cake! Probably the most laid back day i have had so far! When i dropped Anna off at school, i got talking to Marta, we talked about her son, and my life, and then she asked if Anna had plans today... i said nope, and so we scheduled a play-date! She offered to pick her up from school, have them all day, AND drop her off back at home! Oh, what?? She is an angel, i know! haha! Therefore, it was Ava and me all day. Which is like nothing! haha! Just a diaper change about every 2 hours, food, and playing around with the cutest baby in the world! Yup, today's a good day. :)

*moment* When i was preparing lunch for Ava i noticed she had the hiccups. So i tried to get her to drink some water from her sippy cup,,, didn't work. I gave her a teething biscuit,,, still didn't work. The only thing left i could think of was to scare her... its a risk, i know, but she reallllly didn't like having the hiccups! So i picked her up.... just kinda stood there for a while, when she was really distracted looking out the window..... RAWR!..... she looked at me, with the widest eyes i have ever seen,,, then she busted up laughing!!! Soooo hard! It was the cutest thing ever! haha! Plus the hiccups were nowhere to be found. :)

Marta dropped Anna off, and stayed for about a half an hour, letting them play here for a while! And it was super chill! We talked some more! I love talking to Marta, she is hilarious! The only thing is,, when i am talking to her,, i ALWAYS want to immitate her accent... i don't know why, but it is just so tempting!!! hahaha! So after they left, i gave the girls their snacks and put Ava down for her nap! Anna had to go potty, so she did, but the thing about her and going to the bathroom,, she stays in there and plays around with the sink and shower for like an hour! Literally! So i just cleaned up a bit, and after all that jazz,, Anna and i picked up they play-room, and Lizjosh came home! What a day, right!?

Days 28, 29 & 30:

Remorse; Deep and painful regret for wrongdoing.

3 days behind, i am SO sorrrrry! It was a big weekend, so i hope you enjoy this massive post! haha.

So Day 28, Friday;

Strangest day yet. This morning was Ava's one year doctor's appointment, so Lizjosh stayed home from work to take her there! Anna apparently loves Dr. Ross, so she wanted to go to the doctor's too! They let her because it is flu season, and she needed her shots anyway, so she missed school to go! They left around 9, and were gone for about an hour and a half. I wasn't exactly sure what i was going to do... hmmm..... okay, i will clean up. I cleaned my room spotless, scrubbed my bathroom, and even emptied the dishwasher! All that was accomplished, with time to spare, so i wrote in my journal, and read my scrips! How enjoyable! haha! When they got back home, the parentals were rushing to get ready for work, and off they went! Anna was normal, but Ava was having side-effects from the many shots she got, so he was under the weather pretty much for the rest of the day! :( Fridays are Anna's play-date day with Leon, so around 3:30 we went to the Harbour Island park and they played around! Sibylle (Leon's nanny) always runs around with them too, it's awesome. haha! I would, but i always gotta keep lil Ava company! She fell asleep pretty soon after we got there, so i just pushed her around the park in her stroller. Anna and Leon are so cute when they play. I really do want them to get married some day... hahaha! Really though. Oh, and just a little fyi, it was FREEZING again! Like a high of 54. Blech. And of course it was windy. haha! After the play-date, we just hung around the house like usual, and messed around until Lizjosh got home! I wanted to stay up late, just cause it was Friday night and i could... so i watched t.v. hahaha! i watched like 5 episodes of House Hunters! Holla! lol! :)

Day 29;

Freeeeeeeeeedom! Today i had a list of things to do! Mail off a few letters, deposit my check, find my dad a birthday present, and do something for myself! Mailing the letters was easy, i just went to the post office, bought the stamps, and chucked them in the outgoing mail thingy! Done and done. Also, depositing my check was easy as pie as well! Done and done. Now, finding my dad a birthday present was a little bit more difficult, because he NEVER says what he wants!!! haha! I decided i would go to Trader Joe's and just check it out, because everyone here is obsessed with it. lol! I ended up finding something perfect for my dad, and also i picked up something for my mom and brother! I love getting things for people i decided! haha! So that was also something i did for myself! Love love love. In the middle of all this running around, my best Heather Michelle Rowley called me, and we chatted about life, and i loved it! I love her! So so much! The date today is the 30th of October, so everyone in Utah is celebrating Halloween tonight!! I am soooo bummed i wouldn't be spending Halloween dinner with my girls... but thats life is suppose! We will make up for it in December, i am sure of it! :) Speaking of... tonight is the big YSA Halloween Dance in the city!!! It is in the church building under the temple, and i am soooooo stoked! I have my costume all ready, it will be sick! So i went back home after all my errand runs, and started to get ready! I love getting ready for Halloween! And going as pocahontas didn't even feel like i was getting crazy dressed up! It all came so naturally. I am an indian. Its official. lol! :) I met up at the church with Ciera, it was the ward party, and everyone was supposed to meet there and eat. They were having the annual ward chili cookoff! Yum!!! It was way cute to see all the families dressed up in themes! My favorite by far was the bishop and his family, they were 'Dispicable Me' little people! They were so cute! haha! So anyway, only me, ciera, and spencer actually showed up at the church, the rest of the crew, (all the people that went as alice and wonderland) met up somewere else and got ready together! That realllllly irritated ciera and spencer. Personally, i didn't really care all that much, cause i barely know these people, and don't really care if they exclude me or whatever.... but yeah. So us 3 rode the train into the city, and walked to the building! THE TEMPLE IS SO GORGEOUS!!!! Just sayin. lol! We met up with the rest of the group there, and it was so awkward! hahaah! Wha'er. I had a fun time dancing with everyone! Oh funniest thing. So i guess at these dances, the latins are the majority, so they play latin music like every other song, its so awesome! haha! Everyone knows how to move their hips like maniacs! haha! I love it! We made caramel apples, that were actually way gross... haha! And just danced the night away! The alice and wonderland crew won 2nd place in the costume contest,, way cool eh?? The first place winners were dressed up as Taylor Swift and Kanye West, it was HILARIOUS! haha! In my opinion, they definitely deserved the winners title. :) By the time the dance was over, we were all sooooo exhausted! We hopped on the train and went home! I was tired, but had a way good time! Winner halloween status.

Day 30;

Happy Halloween officially! :) Because i was so tired from the night before, i slept in til a whopping 10:30!!! Woot woot! It was such a good feeling! haha! I got up and hopped in the shower! Mmmmm. I love showers. Best part of the day, i'd say! haha! Jk, but i really do like them a whole lot. I got ready for church, and left for New Rochelle! Again i was a little late, but made it for the sacrament, and that's what is important! I sat in the back like i usually do, but ciera, spencer, spencer's sister and her boyfriend were all sitting on a little bench up front and ushered me to come up by them, so i did! That was nice, huh? :) I am so glad to have friends here! Its way nice! And guess what? I wouldn't have them if it wasn't for the church! Word. All the meetings were way good! After, the Anderson's invited me (and ciera, but she is always there anyway, haha) over for dinner! I guess they have a tradition to have chili every halloween, so that was exciting to be invited to be a part of that! Yay! And, it was reallllllly tasty! DAng. haha! Now here, it isn't like utah, where if a holiday falls on a sunday, we celeberate it the day before... they just gotta go with the flow and celebrate it with the rest of the world! So the two youngest Anderson's got all dressed up and went out! It was sooooo cute! They are absolutely adorable!!! We were going to go with them,, but.... drama came up. Remember how i said it was awkward at the dance, and they like 'excluded' us or whatever? Well, aparently there were some hard feelings still lingering in the air, and it was actually becoming a really big deal to them. (I didn't even know what was going on, cause nobody talks to me about anything,, pahaha) So... they called a little meeting to be held. hahaha. I felt like i was in high school! Oh glory... haha! So... we went to Moni's house, and had this meeting. Blah blah blah, drama drama drama. They argued it out, and in the end, everyone was happy! haha! I personally thought it was a little bit of a waste of my time, but if its what everyone wanted then,, thats cool! :) But after that i just went home and skyped with the fam! I LOVE SUNDAY NIGHT SKYPES! It was so lovely to chat with the fam, and see whats going on! :) I love them all so much!! I was pretty homesick all day, and that was just what i needed! They are all so funny, and i miss joking around with them like that! I EVEN miss playing Canasta! haha! So, after that, i fell asleep WAY fast, don't ask me why, cause i slept in so late! hahah! But that was that. :)

Day 27:

Wind; Air in natural motion.

Forecast for today,,, Sunny and windy, with a high of 73. Perfect. :) The morning time was a little hectic. Liz woke up a little late, so she decided to just catch the 9 o'clock train, and stay the morning! So she fed Ava, got everything ready for Anna, and i mostly stood around and drank some water. hahaha! No complaining here! So we dropped Liz off at the station, and headed off to school! What a beautiful day!!! It was a bit windy, but even the wind was warm! When we got home, i put Ava down for her nap, and decided to run on the treadmill! I ran one mile without stopping, and for me that is amazing! hahaha! I usually hate running passionately, but that was so nice! I had so much energy for like 20 minutes after i ran,, then i got way tired, but oh well, it was so worth it! Whew! haha! I can't believe it is Thursday already! This week has FLOWN by!

*moment* When i was picking Anna up from school, i totally biffed it on the sidewalk! And not only that, but when i did, i snorted subconsciously! In front of all the moms walking by! It was awesome! hahaha! I don't think i have laughed that hard at myself in a long time!

So we picked Anna up,, hehehe, and went home for some lunch! Anna ate a nutella sandwich and grapes, and Ava ate this sweet pouch thingy full of baby food! They are awesome! It was time for Ava's second nap of the day, and i just couldn't wait for her to wake up! There was no way we were spending this gorgeous day inside!! While she was sleeping Anna and i played a Fancy Nancy board game, and airplane! That was cute, and made time go by prettty fast! When Ava was finally awake, i decided we were gonna go to the water! The east coast beach! Because it is my favorite spot in the whole world!!! hahaha! And we did! Anna absolutely loved climbing with me on the rocks, and Av was fascinated with the waves, (she was fascinated watching them,, i didn't let her get that close, don't worry!) We were there for a long time, and it was my favorite part of the week so far! I love being outside,, wearing shorts,, with the wind blowing in my hair,,,. :) And i hear it snowed in Utah... pahaha. I shouldn't be too excited though, tomorrow it is supposed to be a high of 54... baaahhh. haha. But i will enjoy it while i have it! We went home and ate our snack, and then went to the alligator park as well! Anna insisted on wearing her butterfly wings again. She is so darling. So that was that, we went home, cleaned up a bit, and shortly after Lizjosh came home! Woot!

Oh, and p.s. i am going to be pocahontas for halloween, i am so excited!!!! The inner indian in me is calling out! haha!

Day 26:

Anew; In a new form or manner.

Happy Birthday to Ava! :) It is her 1st birthday! She has been alive for one year. I have been alive for over 19. That is a loooong time! haha! I woke up in a way better mood today too,,, so hoorah! lol! And when i woke up, i had this genius idea to surprise Liz and Josh, and decorate the house with birthday decorations! Plus, that would kill a lot of time with the girls today, AND it would be suuuper fun! Yeeeah. So i dropped Anna off at school, put Ava down for her nap, and started planning. First step was actually finding a place that actually had decortions.... hmmm..... i had NO IDEA! hahaha! So i made a mental note to actually spend some time getting familiar with the area! lol! When Ava woke up, we hopped in the car and drove around, looking for somewhere... i spend a LOT of time driving up and down Boston Post Rd... until it was time to pick Anna up. hahah! So we went home, ate some lunch, and jumped in the car,, once again! I decided to try the Stop and Shop. Money. This little store reminds me somewhat of Maceys at home. And,, just like Maceys, it has a birthday card isle, and.. bingo. Ribbons, balloons, tissue paper, and wraping paper. Time to get creative. hahaha! We went home, and got to work! It was so fun! We made streamers using the tissue paper and ribbon. Anna rolled up the tissue paper, and i tied them together with the ribbon and hung them up around the house. I blew up the balloons (Anna wanted to help, but her little lungs just didn't have the capacity, her face was a purpleish color when she was done trying to blow it up. haha) and she put them in a pile! Then we made a big sign (with the wrapping paper) that said 'Happy Birthday Ava & Anna'! Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, Ava was sharing her birthday with Anna... :) lol. So that took up a lot of time, we got done around 5! So we went to the park for a bit, Anna brought her scooter, and i had the stroller for Ava! Now,,, let me tell you about the weather. Okay, so in Utah when it rains, it is either pouring, lightly raining, or sprinkling. Well here i have experienced a new kind. I would like to call it 'Misting'. So we stepped out of the car at the park, and it was misting. It was like one of those misters at theme parks, but EVERYWHERE. And,, lucky me, i decided to wear my glasses this day. pahaha. They were full blown misted in like 1 second. hahaha. It was funny! We didn't stay for too long, because it started to legitimately rain, so we went home, drank some hot chocolate, and waited for Liz and Josh to get home. Btw, i just decided to call them Lizjosh. Okay? Okay. :) We counted to 100 twice, and they arrived! We turned out all the lights, and when they got to the door... SURPRISE!! And yes, they sure were surprised! Yay! haha! So they had brought home pizza, and the most delectable, scrumptious, phenomenal looking cupcakes i have EVER seen. OOOOHhhhh glory. lol! They got six different flavors,, one was the 'Pinkalicious' for Anna. Then there was Apple Caramel, Red Velvet, Blackout, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Something de Leche (i forgot. haha). So Anna ate the pink one, then we cut up the others so we could try them all! Talk about delicious. You know how i loved the cupcake they brought back before? Yeah, doesn't even compare to these ones. Yup, my mouth is now currently watering. hahaha! Yum yum yum. Peace.

Day 25:

Frustration; Disappointed; Thwarted.

Blah blah blah. I don't know why, but EVERYTHING was sooo hard today. And i expected it to be a really good day, but that expectation sure slapped me in the face! haha! There was no school, so we set up a play-date with Lizzie for Anna, at 10, and went til 1. The morning time leading up to that seemed to last an eternity. Ava is teething as well, so she didn't want to be put down for two seconds, or she would start wailing!!! (By the way, that didn't change AT ALL during the remainder of the day.) So we sent Anna off to Lizzie's house, and went back home. Putting Ava to sleep for her first nap was a challenge, she wasn't eating very well either, so i was worried something was wrong... but anyway,, i eventually got her down! Phewf. Take a breath. I said a prayer to help me have patience, energy, and the strength to help me make it through the day. So,, that was good. So we picked Anna up and came home to eat, Ava ate a little better at lunch, which made me feel better, but she was so miserable from teething.. :( She kept grabbing at her ears, and fussing a lot. Man.. I wasn't sure what to do, so we went to the Harbour Island park, and i let them play around for a bit! They actually have baby swings at that park, and Ava loves them, she just laughes the whole time! It got a little chilly, so we decided to go back home. And after all this,,, we STILL had about 4 hours til they got home! Oh my glory!!! So we just played around.... a lot..... and everyone was ornery..... and it was a blast. A REAL BLAST!!! I wanted to punch something! I was so freaking grumpy!!! Baaahhhh! Actually, that was when i got a text for volleyball later on in the night... yup. yup yup yup yup. Definitely going! Just so i could hit something!! As hard as i wanted! Yay! hahahah! See how grumpy i was?! Geez. Grumpy the dwarf had nothing on me. lol! But in the end, it was fine! No worries. I was ready to get to bed and wake up to another new opportunity.

Day 24:

Distracted; Having the attention diverted.

A surprisingly smooth Monday! Alllll day i had other things on my mind, like home, family, friends, and i will even admit, boys. haha. Well, mostly just one in particular.. haha. But anyway,,, school, naps, food, they all went by in a breeze! Oh, except Liz accidentally took the baby seat for the car with her in the other car, so Marta had to pick Anna up to and from school! Anna wore her favorite dress and 'biggies' (tights) so she could be the prettiest one at school! And i am sure she was! My best friend Alex and i hopped on skype for a bit, and we chatted, he met Ava and kind of met Anna... lol! She was hiding! But that was way fun! After that we went to the park! Now, we didn't have the car seat,, so we walked. pahahaha. Its a LOT longer of a walk than it is a drive! lol! I was fine, but Anna rode her bike, and she had to take a lot of rests! Good thing we remembered to bring water! Everyone at the park wanted to take turns on her bike, so she got really frustrated and just sat by me and Ava for a while! The walk home was the worst though. There are lots of hills, and Anna hasn't yet mastered how to push her bike, so i did a lot of stroller/bike pushing, which i am sure looked so pathetic to the people driving by! haha! Actually, i looked so pathetic, one of the neighbors offered to drive the bike back to our house. Hallelujah! lol! We made a thank you card for her, and i am planning on making a batch of cooookies as well. :) So that was exhausting, and killed a lot of time! When we got home, we played a few games, and the parents came home soon after that! They had FHE, but i decided not to go, because last time, it killed my sleeping schedule, and i think thats what caused the mono again! So.. i will just have to manage my time better i think! Anyway,, what a day.

Day 23:

Remarkable; Worthy of notice or attention.

What an amazing day!!!!!!! I slept in, showered, got ready, and headed off to church! Today it was the primary program, which i always love, but today it was exactly what i needed to hear. I was tearing up through the whole thing... (shocker, i know, haha.) It was just so sweet to hear their testimonies stated so simply, but with such big meaning. Geez, it was awesome! The rest of the meetings were really good too! After church, i decided i wanted to go see the water! (The east coast beach.) Oh. My. Glory. I absolutely love that place! It was the Larchmont Beach thingy, i don't even know what to call it! But there were benches and gazibos (no clue how to spell that) and rocks everywhere lining the beach. It was a windy day again, but this time the wind wasn't freezing, it was brisk, but not bad at all! I sat on a rock and read my scriptures and thought about all the little lessons taught today. And of course i got emotional. lol! I LOVE my family, i LOVE my friends, and most importantly, i LOVE my Savior Jesus Christ, and my Father in Heaven. :) Way glad i went there today. lol!

Days 21 & 22:

21-

Cold; Having a relatively low temperature, having little or no warmth.

The sun decieved me. I looked out the window and saw welcoming sunshine, and thought, heck yes, its gonna be another beautiful day,,, and then i stepped outside. Bbbrrrrrrrr. I think the high was 58, which really isn't too bad, but the wind is what gets ya! You look up in the sky, and the clouds are moving so fast, like they are in a rush to get somewhere. haha! Friday's always seem to go by super fast! Even the last hour evaporates! I love it! All day was the same ole' routine! Anna played with Leon at the Harbour Island park, which was realllly pretty, but WAY too cold! I could barely stand to be outside! But, i suffered through it for the kids! lol! Ava was a good little baby all day, she went down for her naps like a champ, and was super happy when she woke up, which never happens! Oh!

*moment* Today Anna asked me if i could stay forever. I don't know why, but that made me so happy inside to know that she approves of me, and doesn't want me to leave. I felt like a winner, and i never want that to change!

22-

Today is saturday, and the best day of my stay here so far,,, wanna know why? Well its because its day 22!!! haha! My lucky number! lol! I cleaned up my room, and watched some t.v.,,, i should've done laundry, but didn't. haha! I wrote a few letters, went to the gym, and got all sweaty! I got my nails done. Basically it was a day for me. :) The event of the day was going to the movies with Ciera and Spencer! We went to see Wallstreet..... Big mistake. haha! That was the most boring movie everrrr! haha! I didn't understand half of what they were saying. The only good thing about it was Shia LaBeouf! haha! Really though. After that we went to eat at this place called Hubba... i think. ha! Its a ghetto little place that serves everything with chili on it, and it was actually way good! I got a chicken sandwich with chili and cheese, and it was quite the treat! After that we went to Spencer's house and watched Flushed Away, a MUCH better movie choice! I laughed so much at that one! Winner status. So, over-all it was a way good day! :)

Day 20:

Flutter; To wave, flap, or toss about.

Halloween is coming up, and Anna has gone from wanting to be a dinosaur, to a ballerina, to a bunny to a butterfly. And the end result is..... a pink butterfly ballerina girl! Ta-da!!! :) All day she wanted to wear her costume. It was a struggle getting her to wear normal clothes to school. haha! Right after school though, she barely stepped a toe in the door before she darted up the stairs and changed. And she did look beautiful. :) But she wouldn't let me take a picture for the life of me. haha. OH. I forgot. This morning when she walked down the stairs, she had a surprise for me. So i closed my eyes, and when she yelled, SURPRISE, i looked,,, and,,,,,,, she got her hair cut!!! Her mom did a fabulous job doing so! I told her she could use my shears next time, so it doesn't damage her hair... hahaha. Silly hairstylist coming out of me. So, anyway, back to what i was saying,,, every thing we did had a butterfly theme! Her food was caterpillar food, and her drink was sparkling pink drink that only ballerina butterfly girls could drink. When we played 'doggy and owner,' i went to the pet store and had to ask for a ballerina sparkle dog with wings, (her name was Princess, and apparently pink ballerina poodles named Princess don't walk, they are carried where ever they go... baahhh.) hahaha. Also, she insisted on wearing her outfit out on our walk, and to the park. Every little girl at the park came up and felt her wings,, she was on cloud 9! She loved the attention, and didn't want to leave! She was basically a celebrity pink ballerina butterfly girl! haha! Ava was a good quiet little gal today, nothing out of the ordinary to report with her! She isn't sick anymore, so she sleeps a lot more, and a lot better! Although she still poops like a maniac, i suppose that is normal! haha. So that was my crazy day! At night, i had institute again! It was absolutely amazing, like always! I am starting to feel like one of the crew now, so that is awesome! I love it! I can't wait to get even closer to them, and have a good time! It is also so nice to have a social life out here! I just need to remember to take care of myself out her, and pace myself! Oohhhh life. :) This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and i need to take it, and run with it!

Day 19:

Grateful; Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits recieved.

Today is play-date day! Finally. haha! All morning Anna was jumping around giggling in excitement for it! She wore high piggy-tales in her hair, because that's what Lizzy always has. So we dropped her off at school, and went back home! Me an Av had a loooonnnng time together. :) I put her down for her nap, and cleaned up a few things! Then when she woke up, off we went on our walk! Because we had so much time, i wanted it to be long, and worth our while,,, and it was. :) We walked all over town, the sun was shining, with an occasional cloud here and there. They got this new dohickey for her stroller, it is like a sleeping bag that you slip her into, and she just sits there looking like a queen! haha! She fell asleep about halfway through the walk. By the end of our little stroll the sky was blanketed with a thin layer of gray clouds, and the wind was picking up,, perfect timing. We went inside and played around with the toys for a while, then it was time to get Miss Anna from Miss Lizzy's house! The drive there is way pretty because it is right along the water with all the sailboats floating. We picked her up, and she was in a grumpy mood because she didn't want to leave. :( Bummer. We made it all better by going and getting slushies! These things were incredible! They had like 20 flavors of slushies, like cotton candy (Anna's choice), chocolate chip, peanut butter cup, cookie dough (my choice), and keep in mind this is ice! They were so stinkin good!! Then we went back home, played with some good ole magic goop, and decided it was such a pretty day, we couldn't waste it all inside, so we went over to the park,, again. haha! We just love it there! Anna made some new friends, like she always does, and Ava wouldn't stay in her stroller for anything, so i walked around holdin her. :) We came back when it started getting dark, ate a snack, and waited for el parentals to get home! They did, and while dinner was being prepared, i got on good ole skype with my beccer-lou for a bit! Then i chatted and ate dinner with the family! When that was done, i called becs back, and surprise, Evan was there too! They were going to go to a movie. :) But decided i was important enough to talk to me for a bit! I loved seeing both of them. When that was over, i called my home, just to see if anyone would answer! And guess who did??? My Blakie Boy!! :) Yay! So i talked to him, and said goodnight! Love love love love. I am grateful for today.

Days 16, 17, and 18:

So sorry i have been slacking, i will do my best to get better!!!

16-

Ohhh Sundays. :) I got to sleep in!! Its a miracle! I slept all the way til 9! pahaha! I hopped in the shower, and got ready for church! It is nice to get yourself all dolled up, especially if it is because you are entering the house of the Lord! I was a little late, but made it just in time to take the sacrament! The meetings were all wonderful, especially sunday school! I forgot my teachers name... :/ i will work on that next week, but i love her! I am not exactly sure where she is from... but her english isn't perfect, but that doesn't even matter! She teaches so well, and with so much love! We are learning about Isaiah, which is confusing enough, but i still learn a lot! I think the spirit is co-teaching in there! So.. yes, after church i came home to a nice warm dinner, and went to bed!

17-

Mmmmmooooonnnnndddddddaaaaaaayyyyyy. <------ That is how long Monday seemed to be! I don't know what it was, but it dragged on for forever!!! Every activity i came up with seemed to last for about 5 minutes each, so,,, you do the math, i was stretching for more ideas! So... we went to the park! pahaha! They always know how to entertain themselves there! haha! Finalllly, Liz and Josh came home, and i went to FHE!!! It was amazing! It was at Graham's house, and that just so happens to be just down the street from me.... who knew!?!? haha! We planned out future events, and played a game, and ate chips/guacamole/salsa, and cookies! It was phenomenal! Once again, the church activity wins the 'highlight of my week so far' award! Lol! I got home way too late, and went to bed...

18-

Definitely regret going to bed so late. haha! I think the mono monster didn't like it either. Bahhhh. Another long day, and its only Tuesday!! haha! Oh well! The morning went by pretty smoothly, school, nap, walk! Oh, about the walk.... i walked a different way today, down Avon Rd, and dannnggg. Seriously the houses on this street were like mansion status. I felt like a lowly commoner walking around there! They were perfectly landscaped, perfectly groomed, perfectly situated, and perfectly huge!!! Freaking gorgeous! After school i talked to Marta, and we set up a play-date for Anna and Lizzy tomorrow! I told Anna, and she got sooooo excited. Maybe a little too excited! All i heard about for the rest of the day was "I AM GOING TO PLAY WITH LIZZY ALL DAY TOMORROW! SARAH, DON'T PICK ME UP FROM SCHOOL, I WON'T BE THERE, AND YOU WILL BE ALL ALONE. LIZZY AND ANNA LIZZY AND ANNA LIZZY AND ANNA! MARTA IS GOING TO PICK ME UP. I CAN'T WAIT, I CAN'T WAIT. CAN IT BE TOMORROW ALREADY, I WANT TO GO TO BED." Those were literal, direct quotes from the miss anna. hahaha! Sommmmeone was stoked. We played games, like little kids and their babysitters do, and then Liz and Josh came home! I was planning on going to bed SO early, cause i was so bloody exhausted, but then my computer started ringing.... it was from Scott Alanis! :D My dad was on skype!! So i chatted with him for like 30 minutes, and it was so awesome! I love my dad. Honestly, he is an amazing guy, and he's always been a hero figure in my life! Not to mention he is a hoooot! He even picked up Maggie and put her up to the computer, and i started to cry. Geez, i am an emotional girl. pahaha! But i miss my Maggielou. haha! So after that i went to bed, but couldn't fall asleep for another hour, so there went that idea. lol! That is all for today.

Days 14 & 15:

Warning: This post will be long. Probably. haha.

Thrilling; Producing sudden, strong, and deep emotion and/or excitment.

14- TGoodnessIF!!!! Today went by quite fast actually! Things went smoothly in the morning. In the afternoon Anna had a play-date with the most adorable little boy named Leon! I was supposed to meed his new french nanny, but she just dropped him off without saying much, and left! Then when she came to pick him up an hour and a half later, she didn't even say a word! It was a little awkward, but i am sure she is just getting the hang of things, and hopefully one day we will be friends! :) The evening was way chill, i got to talk to my bests Heather, Becca and a little of Sandy on skype! It was so good to chat with them! OH how i miss my girls!!! Skype is my new favorite invention. haha! After that i hopped in the shower, read my scriptures, and watched Miss Congeniality 2 til late in the night. (because i could! haha) BTW i love that movie! I was literally laughing out loud to it! Winner status.

15- Saturday is a special day.... and Brian is in town!! :) All morning we were coordinating when and where to meet up in the CITY! I was so giddy i was pacing in my room in anticipation to go! haha! And also i was a little anxious to ride on the train and subway by my lonesome! But Liz and Josh gave me good directions and advice, i was absolutely fine! haha! The train ride in was exiting! I saw a lot of grafitti, and i actually have this bizarre interest in it. There is a lot of (illegal) creativity and skill put into it, that i kind of respect! (not the illegal aspect, but talent for sure) Another thing i noticed was all the garbage. It is everywhere! It made me want to get a massive group together and just spend a day picking up the trash. Can you imagine what a difference that would make? Just a thought. So i rode right into THE Grand Central Station! Holy Moly. There were so many people!! Some walking fast, some slow. Some dressed to the nines, some dressed like they didn't care one bit. Some old, some young. Some with their noses in the air, and some begging with everything they have for some change. So many different nationalities, it was absolutely insane! Thats a lot to take in for one gal. haha! It was absolutely fascinating,, and that was only the beginning. I met up with Brian and friends on 59th and Lexington.... i think that is how you say it, i am still new to the street lingo! Its confusing as crap. haha! After i met up with them we went to this authentic New Yorkian pizza, and it was to die for. To die for. My mouth is watering at the thought. hahaha. After lunch, the rest of the crew went to Serendipity while Bri and i went to H&M and Dylans candy shop! So.... H&M. WHY in the world do they not have one in Utah??? What a freaking genius clothing store! Serious, i understand what all the rage is. hahaha. We got little fudges at the candy shop too, and they were a little piece of heaven! After that was the raffle. The raffle for what? Well let me tell you. It was a raffle to win front row tickets to see Wicked!!! And i can't hold this in any longer, THEY CALLED MY NAME, I WON TICKETS TO SEE WICKED IN NEW YORK!!!!!!!! :D Seriously the highlight of my life so far. So, i saw Wicked. Was i blown away? YES. Did i cry? YES. Did a guffaw? YES. Am i obsessed? DOUBLE YES. Honestly there aren't words to explain how absolutely incredible it was. I am so grateful to have won so i could be able to see it. I see it as a blessing! I am so happy. Sigh. So after that long and eventful day, it was time to ride back home, and here i am. So content, and so tired. But this post was too exciting to post. :) Love life.

Day 13:

Better; of superior suitability, advisability, desirablility, acceptableness; preferable.

This morning the foghorn woke me up..... they don't have foghorns in Utah. So i woke up thinking there was some kind of world crisis that everyone was being alerted about, so i peeked out my window,,, and didn't see anyone else in any kind of panic, so i decided to not think anything of it and be sure to ask Liz and Josh what in the world that was! haha! Not gonna lie, i felt like a strait up idiot when they told me. hahaha. So i decided i need to eat healthier, and cut back on the nutella. Although i think it is addicting. Seriously. With my new eating habits in mind, i thought about what i wanted for breakfast. I decided oats were healthy, and i heard somewhere that dry oats are even better. So i ate dry oats..... and felt like a horse. To spice things up i threw in a banana.... and felt like a monkey. Yeah, never doing that again. I would rather get fat on nutella than eat like a monkeyhorse for the rest of my life!! hahaha. The weather held up for a walk around the neighborhood for me and Ava, and later a bike ride around the park for Anna, then it started to storm! It rained so much! It wasn't a heavy rain, but it was a constant one for sure. There were puddles everywhere! The evening kind of went slow, so Anna and i decided to make cards for her parents, and we put them in 'magic envelopes'! (The magic was licking the strip and having it stick to the envelope! haha.) I was also way anxious to get to institute! Josh came home a little early to make up for coming late yesterday, so that was nice, and it gave me plenty of time to get ready for institute! Ohhh institute. I loved it! There were 14 people there! I guess that is an all-time record for them, so everyone was so happy! Ciera (my new fabulous friend in the ward) was there, and we chatted it up, i like her a lot! Too bad she is moving back to Utah next month to get engaged!!! hahaha. jk, i am happy for her! Everyone there is way nice, and they are sooo tight! I want to be tight with them, and i have a feeling i will! Brother Anderson is the teacher, and man. He is one cool guy. We learned about Doctrine and Covenants 19, and he just taught with so much passion, and he is bloody hilarious! We were talking about how the Catholics use the crusifix as their 'symbol', but we choose not to, because we don't focus on the death, but the life, and then he stopped. Thought a little bit, and said, "What is our symbol?......... Casseroles." hahahaha. I laughed so hard. All around it was a good time, and there were cookies, which is always a bonus. lol! Ciera is way close to Brother Anderson's family, and do you remember when that lady told me about that girl that was texting her brother in Utah? Well apparently, that is Bro. Anderson's son, who just returned from his mission, and i HAVE to meet him on Sunday.. hahaha. Tooo bad i just still like someone else! haha. But i am down for another friend! I got home, and the family left dinner out for me, they are the sweetest! I stayed up way too late, but couldn't fall asleep because of my stuffy nose. :( haha.

Day 12:

Challenge; difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

........ Today was tough. Okay, the ending was tough. The actual day day was good! School as usual, and Marta picked Anna up from school and came over to the house for a play-date here! Anna and Lizzie play so well together! They are the cutest of friends. They played for about three hours while Marta and i got to know each-other better! She is one amazing woman! Really, i admire her! It is fun to try and understand her english with her heavy spanish accent! Sometimes i just nod my head, smile and say 'really?' to what she says, when i REALLY didn't understand one word she said. hahaha. And i think she knows it too! haha! After that we went to the park and played some more! Ava and i had a good time there today, because she took her nap right before, so she didn't fall asleep! It is a challenge to keep her from eating little leaves though! lol! On the way back from the park, Anna and Ava both zonked out in the car, and usually when that happens for Josh and Liz, they just leave them there to sleep, and hang out by the car for when they wake up,, so thats what i did too! Av was the first to wake up, (she is way congested, and her nose was running alllllllll day, so she hasn't been sleeping that well either.) So we sat around the garage and waited for Anna to wake up. Ava started getting fussy and crying way loud, so i tried to hurry and calm her down and picked her up, and i think that was when Anna woke up... she woke up, and didn't see anyone right by her, and she was still strapped in her seat, so she got scared that she was stuck there. :( I honestly was there in like 2 seconds after she woke up, but she was hurt. She stomped in the house, and sat down and cried for almost 5 minutes strait. She wouldn't let me get near her to comfort her, so i just had to stand there and watch. When she calmed down, i called her mom (they asked me to if anything like this happened.) and Anna talked to her, and started crying again, which i think made Liz upset too. So... yeah. I felt the tension. And it felt like it was all targeted at me. Josh got home first (they both had to take the later trains today) and gave me a little fatherly lecture, and said to just wake her up next time so she isn't so terrified, and told me that he was probably handling this a little better than Liz was. (Which is understandable because she has that motherly protection thing going for her.) So yeah. That sucks! I was so freaking helpless, which is the worst feeling ever! All this caused a massive melt-down in the shower. haha. But i think those are healthy! I tried to call a few of my friends, but nobody answered. Then i decided to call home, cause i was pretty sure someone would be there... and blake answered. :) I was so happy to hear his voice. My buddy can always make me smile. We didn't talk about anything too exciting, but he made my day for sure. I learned a lot today, and i am grateful. I knew it wouldn't be a perfect job, and actually, things have been good in the big picture! So, its all about perspective. I know i am supposed to be here, and i have a duty to fulfill! But i will admit i am strait up homesick. Its like disease status. haha. But i will make the absolute best of it.

Day 11:

Dance; to move ones feet or body, or both, rhythmically in a pattern of steps esp. to the accompaniment of music.

This morning i kind of got in trouble... :/ apparently i wasn't feeding the girls enough in the day, so Liz and Josh told me to work on that. Sheoooot. Sometimes i have a hard time taking constructive critisism, so i will admit that i was a little grumpy. haha! But the more and more i thought about it, the more i decided that HELLO! They are the parents/my boss, so they know way more than i do, and i need to make a few adjustments! Nuff said!

*moment* I made Anna a bowl of cereal and orange juice, and gave Ava her baby food and a yogurt.

Today Anna was the 'snack person' in school, so she brought graham crackers and fresh apples to school with her, and she was so giddy about it!

*moment* While Anna was at school, i gave Ava her bottle of formula.

After school Anna just kept talking about how when you are the 'snack person', you get to be the leader, and everyone tells you how good the snack was, and she was just lovin the attention! haha!

*moment* After school, I made Anna some halloween mac-and-cheese, and Ava her peas baby food, as well as her sweet potatoe chicken dinner baby food.

In the afternoon, Anna had a ballet class because she missed hers on Saturday for her friend's birthday party! We got her all dolled up in tights and her leotard, and she even let me put her hair up in a bun! While we were waiting to go to the studio, i turned on some music and we danced our little hearts out in the kitchen! I was in girly heaven! After that, we went to the studio and she danced with the other girls while i stayed in the lobby and chatted with the owner's husband. He is such a nice man! He is probably in his early fifties, and just married Melanie (the owner of the studio) in Sept. They were college sweethearts for three years, then their paths in life kind of drove them apart. He skiied professionally, and she was dancing on broadway. Til one day (last year) she called him up and told him she was done living without him, and he flew out to New York from Texas, and they were married. Isn't that the sweetest thing you have ever heard!?!? Baaahhh. I love their love. When we got home...

*moment* I gave Ava a yogurt and her bottle and Anna an apple and a Mochi ball.

So after the snack Ava took a nap while Anna and i went through all my jewelry and we put my beautiful rhinestone costume jewelry on her so she could look 'beautiful' when her mommy and daddy got home! And she did! They raved about their little glamorous girl! It was darling. :) All in all, today was good, and i feel like i improved on their request. ;)