Quotes from the Taylor Trip - Sorry, couldn't resist!

"I can't be around him... he makes my tummy tickle!" - from a 4-yr old!

"Calista would be an angry drunk, but drink in moderation. Also, she would make fun of everybody else." -Jared

"Shana is lovey-dovey drunk. And a major exhibitionist. The one dancing around with a lampshade on her head." - Jared

"Cynthia is a philosophizing, hard drinker. She can hold her liquor better than any one else as well." - Jared

"Kiss me on the neck in the morning. iiiiiiiiiiiittts MOOORNING!" - a 5-yr old!

"This pepsi heals my soul!" - Shana

"I'm just a big, dumb NOTHIN'!!!" - Pluto

Yes, we talked about what kind of drunks we would be. We've wondered that a couple times in the past, and now it's all resolved. No worries.

The Taylors and the 'Burg

This weekend we went up to see the awesome Taylors in Rexburg. Or, burnt toast land, if you prefer. Either way, we had so much fun, we just couldn't contain it. We LOOOVE the Taylors, so we knew good times were imminent. We arrived late and stayed up late (gee, that is SO unlike us...) and just had a generally good time talking and laughing (and making fun of Shana...).
Des and Shana at Red Robin. Good food, good times, lots of onions. YUM!

Totally goofy picture of Jared and us. We are patently unable to be normal in any picture.

Besides the amazing cultural mecca that is Rexburg, we are sad we missed the Potato Museum. We'll hit that next time.

MOAB!

Last weekend a big group from my ward went out to Moab to have a blast! And boy, it was fun! I'm glad that after 3 years of living in Utah, I finally went to see what its famous monument.
Delicate Arch (the one on all the Utah license plates). This is the view from the lookout. We didn't actually hike to the arch ( I KNOW, I was very upset about that....). After froliking around on acting like general college-age kids on a sugar rush, we took really fun pictures, and tried not to fall off the nearby cliff.

It's Cynthia hunting season. Shana almost got me, but I jumped and pushed Hellen out of the way too.

The walls were closing in on each other (like Star Wars). Shana and I saved the day and stopped the event with our amazing acrobatics and quads. Don't worry, crisis averted.

Up at the lookout point. Notice Delicate Arch in the back. This is our "dead family" pose. Priceless. I love it! I am so doing this when I have kids.

9 20-somethings + really tight, steep crevasse + uber strong quads + 10 seconds to get into position = Awesome picture and hilarious experience!

Moab was awesome! I can't wait to go back again.

We're going to Moab. Here we come Arches National Park!!!!!

And, as a side note, I noticed something interesting. After 8 months of working from 8am to about 9pm on most days of the week, 4 days of no responsibilities is mind numbing. I am freakishly excited to go camping, mostly because it's something else to do. Maybe I've become a workaholic. Maybe there's not enough in my brain to keep me entertained. Maybe I'm suffering from Eyring Science Center Seperation Anxiety (ESCSA).

Kylie leaves for London tomorrow.... and I am jealous. You know what that means??? Germany is 4 months 1 day away!!!!

finals and a real spring break!

Today marks the beginning of finals for dear old BYU. I just finished my first one, and will soon begin another. I have always wondered who thought that tests were an appropriate measure of knowledge. I think they are a sophisticated form of torture. Or hazing. Take your pick.
In lighter news, after finals I have a full week off! We're planning an awesome camping trip. So - here's a pop quiz. Where should we go? Shana wants to go to Goblin's National park, I want to go to Arches National Park, and there has also been a plug for Bryce Canyon, Las Vegas, and San Diego. I don't really know how we'll camp in LV or SD....

Conference weekend! What a blast. Shana's momma came to town, and we sure had fun. It's always a blast when people from back home visit. We spent time looking at silly youtube videos (the picture below is evidence), chatting, and laughing. Good friends, great conference, and tasty food... what could have been better?

My beautiful roommate, Hellen! and Bryce the artichoke fan.

This picture is great for two reasons. 1 - Calista looks like a grade school teacher... and 2) Isaiah is reading the Mormon Maiden's Handbook to Getting Married. Priceless.

Isaiah and I made delicious rolls for dinner. He was very excited about them. They were absolutely scrumptious, if I do say so myself.

We had to have this classy picture to commemorate the weekend. Notice how naturally Shana assumes her signiture pose.

Spring looks like it might finally be coming to Provo! Happiness!

After finals, I am essentially taking the rest of the school year off, for the sole purpose of research. I love to do research. My best days in the classroom and doing homework are worse then my worse days doing research - that's how awesome it is! I get asked a lot why I study astronomyMy initial response is, "Do you look up at night???" How can you not want to study the stars? It's difficult, but well worth it.

4 months 10 days till Germany!

Spring (or not) and avoiding responsibility...

This weekend was the annual Festival of Colors at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. This means that a bunch of Mormon kids learned a little about a different religion and had fun throwing colored chalk at each other. The festival of colors has a multi-layered story, but my favorite part is the point that we throw colors to welcome spring.
This was my first year attending. It was blast! I couldn't breathe for a few minutes because of all the chalk in the air, and there was chalk in my nose, ears, eyes, throat.... everywhere! Good thing it isn't toxic!
Here is some of the group that I went with. Observe that my shirt was white, once upon a time.

The huge crowd, after most of the dust had settled. Last year there were 11,000 people in attendence. They think even more were there this time.

More of my group, right after we were done throwing. I like how Shana looks gray.... hahaha

This is from Holly's bday party on friday night. It was a "gangsta's or geeks" theme. Can you doubt that I went as a geek?? It's so much fun to dress up like that. Calista and I went as geeks together, and I must say, we're pretty hot. I just love these goofy pictures.

So, I'm taking a really hard test this saturday, and I'm not looking forward to it (and even that's an understatement). I'm handling it very well, if I do say so myself, by completely avoiding reality and pretending that it doesn't exist. I know I'm going to pass it this time, hands down, so I'm not even going to worry about it.

:)